Just One Last Trip
by crimsonpuddle
Summary: Martha cannot refuse one last trip, but when she unearths a dark secret, the Doctor is given new hope of finding someone he thought he'd lost forever. Crossover Doctor Who/Torchwood adventure, set S3 DW, S2 TW. Doctor/Rose reunion angst. DDay spoilers.
1. I Think We'll Need An Expert

Introduction: Ok, this is 'Just One Last Trip', my latest Doctor Who story. It won't be too long, but I hope it's quite enjoyable. It is a Torchwood/Doctor Who crossover, so it might help if you know a little about Torchwood _and_ Doctor Who. Note that this is a reunion fic! Beware!  
Pairings: More or less canon Torchwood, and obviously Doctor/Rose.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any of the characters in this story. All are owned by the BBC. All that is mine is the storyline and the title.  
Rating: K+  
Set: Somewhere between the end of Series 3 Doctor Who and the second episode of Series 2 Torchwood.  
Summary: Martha cannot refuse one last trip, but just how long will the trip last? When she unearths a dark secret, the Doctor is given new hope of finding someone he'd lost forever, but what lengths will he go to, to get her back?

* * *

**Chapter 1: I Think We'll Need An Expert**

A sharp ringing in his ears brought the man gasping back to life with a grunt. He scrabbled about wildly in the black chair, and Martha was suddenly relieved that he had decided to add a safety belt to the contraption at the last minute.

"What happened?" he panted. His arms were flailing out violently, and his whole torso was shaking. He let out a frustrated groan as he opened his eyes.

"I was almost there!" he spat.

He glanced around subconsciously at the grim, dark room, until he found Martha's silhouette, lit dimly from the slightly ajar door. She was walking slowly, backwards, away from him and the machine, as if afraid, and as the hanging light bulb illuminated her face, the Doctor saw a solitary tear fall down her cheek. She was covering her mouth with her hands and looked scared of what she had just witnessed. He looked questioningly into the girl's eyes with distress.

"What did you do?" he asked her sorrowfully, but she didn't answer immediately.

"I-I'm sorry…" she whispered apologetically. "It-It had been hours." She paused, and he sighed. "Look at yourself..." she pleaded softly, lowering her hands and willing the Doctor to see sense. "Every time; it's always the same. Just... let it go. I-It's not working. Let her go..."

The Doctor sighed and looked as if he was about to yell, but then he glanced down. His arms were bruised and cut in places and his clothes were partially ripped. He was sweating heavily and he could feel blood dripping steadily off his chin and onto his shirt. Looking back up at his companion, he gave her an apologetic stare.

"I – I'm sorry." He said quietly, undoing the safety belt on the uncomfortable old, leather chair. "I shouldn't have... you shouldn't have seen me like..." he trailed off as he pulled off sensors and wires from his body.

"No, it's... not your fault." Martha reassured him after a pause. "I... started this. It's my fault."

The Doctor stood up fully now that he was not connected to the chair, and looked past Martha to the metal door.

"No. Don't say that." he whispered, the sounds echoing round the room.

"I agreed to help." Martha persisted.

"Yes... but I shouldn't have asked you to." He shook his head in frustration and walked the short distance to the door, with Martha just behind him. "This is my responsibility." He continued, walking down a long corridor filled with doors. He looked to his left and saw Martha staring at the floor as they walked. "I shouldn't have brought you into it." At these words, Martha looked up and stared at the man.

"What? No, I don't mind! I'm glad you told me!" she protested quickly, having to jog to keep up with him after he took a sharp left turn at the end of the passageway. "I mean, it's pretty scary, seeing you like that, but... we're in this together."

The Doctor stopped suddenly outside a door and Martha stumbled, letting the Doctor catch her arm to steady herself.

"No. This has nothing to do with you. It's my burden, and I shouldn't have involved you. It's too dangerous."

The Doctor went to enter the room, but Martha reached out and grabbed the handle.

"Too dangerous?" she repeated with raised eyebrows.

"I – I didn't mean –" the Doctor began to defend himself, with a sigh, but Martha cut in.

"Who was it that found out, single-handedly, about how to get to the other universe? Who helped you build that machine? Who has been travelling with you for the past year, Doctor? I don't need protecting!"

"I know; I didn't mean... I just meant that this is my problem. Not yours."

The woman looked at him stubbornly and let go of the door handle.

"I made it my problem when I found the book. I want to help."

The doctor didn't answer; instead he entered the room and shut the door, leaning on the other side of it. Martha sighed and walked away crossly.

She followed the corridor round until she reached the staircase. Walking down slowly, she paused, one floor down. She glanced to the end of the short hallway and saw a door, slightly ajar. A small sign hung lopsided from the handle, reading "The Doctor". Martha walked down the hall hesitantly, heading for the door at the end. She passed her own room, and peered into the Doctor's nervously. It looked similar to her own, but a lot more messy, and it had a slightly foreboding atmosphere. A low, agitated hum came from all around her; the TARDIS, telling her to leave it. She knew it was wrong, and yet she couldn't help herself.

"I know..." she muttered to the TARDIS, ignoring the humming and pushing open the door. Walking past the bed, she saw an open shoebox box on the floor. It was filled with photos and small, crumpled sheets of paper. She picked one photo up from the floor. It was a picture of the Doctor, with his arms around a blonde girl's waist; they were both laughing. Martha couldn't remember the last time she had seen the Doctor looking this happy; it was months ago, at least, with Jack. She turned the picture over; scrawled writing on the back read "The Doctor and Rose, London, 2012".

There must have been hundreds of pictures, some with a second, dark-skinned, black haired man who would stand at the side; sometimes a younger-looking Jack, to her astonishment, would be standing with them, usually pulling a face or grinning stupidly. Martha sat on the floor and looked through the pictures, smiling. There was a knock on the door and Martha jumped, dropping the picture she was holding and turning sharply to look at the door.

"Mind if I come in?" the Doctor muttered with a slight smile, and Martha stood up anxiously.

"I–I'm sorry –" she began, but the Doctor held up a hand to stop her.

"It doesn't matter." He walked over, shutting the door, and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry about before. It wasn't your fault. You were right to bring me back."

Martha was silent for a minute, and then she spoke quietly. "Did you find her?"

"No." the Doctor replied firmly. "I think we'll need an expert."

Martha laughed softly.

"So much for 'One last trip'." she muttered absent-mindedly, and headed for the door. "Coming?"

The Doctor glanced down at the open box of photos. "In a minute."

- - - - - - -

Martha looked up as the Doctor entered the console room. Bracing herself, she asked the question that had been torturing her mind ever since she had unplugged the mechanism.

"So, what actually happened?" Unable to contain her anticipation, she grinned and bounded over to the Doctor. He didn't answer for a moment.

"I... couldn't find her."

Martha's face fell. "Right." She hesitated, eager for more details.

The Doctor looked past her to the centre of the room, where the TARDIS controls lay silent and gloomy.

"I looked. I was in London. She just… wasn't there." He paused, and looked up at the ceiling, as if hoping to find the answer there, and Martha looked away with regret.

"Oh."

"But, it's not all bad." He started uneasily, heading over to the console.

"Oh?" Martha followed him over, hope appearing on her face.

"We're going to find Jack. He might be able to help." The Doctor began pressing buttons and pulling levers with enthusiasm.

"That's great, we can finally meet his team!"

"Yeah." the Doctor hesitated. "But I don't know for sure. Whether he can help, I mean."

"Anything's possible." Martha reassured him, though she instantly regretted giving him false hope. The Doctor didn't answer.

With a long-awaited droning sound, the floor began to vibrate loudly and Martha grabbed on to the control panel to steady herself as the TARDIS flew through the Vortex.

* * *

Ok, so there's Chapter 1! Good? Bad? Please tell me whether I should continue or not, whether I have any misspelt words, etc.


	2. Introductions, Anyone?

The italics later on in the chapter represent memories, some of which you may remember from Last of the Time Lords.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Introductions, Anyone?**

Ianto glazed around the tiny room lazily, sighed and ate a noodle almost subconsciously. Glancing back jadedly at the screen he was supposed to be studying, he suddenly bolted upright to frown at it, lowering his Chinese to the desk.

"What the..." he muttered to himself, inching his eyes closer to the computer monitor. His mouth dropped open slightly with awe as he watched the events unfolding outside.

"Uh... J-Jack?" he called uncertainly, looking away from the CCTV footage. "Jack, you might want to see this!"

Moments later, Jack bounded into the small office with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?" he asked Ianto patiently, and looked around the room. "What?"

Ianto poked the screen slowly, and Jack edged forwards to take a closer look at the blue police box that had just materialised outside the hub. A grin appeared on his face and he jumped up and down, getting ready to run.

"Oh, yes!" he cried, startling Ianto enough to make him drop his Chinese to the floor. "I knew he'd come back!"

Ianto stood up, confused, and followed Jack as he ran out the door like an excited child.

"What's going on?" Gwen stood up and jogged towards Jack as he dashed out of the office and into the main area of the hub. She gave Ianto a sideways glance then turned back to Jack when he shrugged uselessly. "Jack?"

Jack was still grinning as he lifted his coat from a hook and threw it on quickly.

"I just need to go somewhere; I'll be back soon!" he exclaimed, and ran out of the cog door with not another word. Ianto rushed back into the office and lent down to check the CCTV.

"Ianto?" Gwen called, following him in. "Ianto, what's up with Jack?"

Ianto tapped the screen and Gwen bent down to look. Seconds later, they saw the familiar figure of Jack bounding into the shot and rushing up to the TARDIS.

"What is that?" Gwen asked disbelievingly, but Ianto didn't answer. They watched silently as Jack jumped up and down with glee outside. After a few moments, the two gazed at the screen in wonderment as two people exited the box.

- - - - - - -

Martha stumbled back as she walked out of the TARDIS when she saw Jack, standing right outside the door, grinning.

"Whoa!" she fell back onto the Doctor, who was right behind her, and who pushed her back out with a chuckle.

"Didn't take you long to get out here!" she cried, and pulled him into a long-awaited embrace. Jack and the Doctor both grinned, and, once Jack had been released, the Doctor held out a hand. Jack took it hesitantly, before pulling the Doctor into a hug, laughing. As he was released, the three stared at each other, grinning stupidly, before anyone spoke.

"So, how long has it been since the end of the World?" the Doctor smiled, and Jack chuckled.

"I'd forgotten how hard it is to keep track of time in that thing. It's been a couple of months. I've just settled back in with the team. Trust you to come back now."

Amongst the laughing and catching up, no one realised that Owen was watching, just round the corner, with Toshiko beckoning him to get a move on. She considered chucking one of the empty Chinese boxes at him, but smiled to herself and wondered over instead.

"What's going on?" she asked him, tugging at the back of his sleeve playfully, before being instructed to shut up by Owen, who didn't even turn to look at her.

"Charming." she muttered, and then walked round Owen to see what he was finding so fascinating.

"Who's that?" she asked loudly, and Owen elbowed her, but smirked.

"Owen!" she snapped, half-angry, half-amused, and returned her gaze to the three people standing outside the box.

"What's that box thing?" she asked, not turning away from the sight. Owen sighed and turned to walk away. Toshiko followed him quickly after, and he smiled as he heard her coming.

"Honestly," he began, in mock-annoyance. "It is no fun holding a mini stake-out if your partner won't shut up." They smiled, and headed back to the hub, dropping the empty boxes in nearby bins.

"Hello?" Toshiko called, stopping dead at the hub entrance. "Gwen?" she called to Gwen's desk, noticing that no one was there. "Ianto?" Owen pushed past her and walked up to his desk, taking no notice of the missing Gwen and Ianto.

"In here!" came Ianto's distant voice from the CCTV office. Toshiko and Owen rushed in to the small office and Gwen and the four stared at the screen in wonder.

"Who _are _they?" Toshiko asked quietly.

"More to the point, why are they so interesting?" Gwen asked, realising for the first time that this was none of their business. "Why are we watching them? They're just friends of Jack's." Ianto stared at her sceptically, but Toshiko agreed.

"Yeah, or it might be something private." She looked to Owen expectantly, and he hesitantly agreed too.

Ianto frowned.

"You lot didn't see how they arrived, did you?"

- - - - - - -

"So, what have you two been up to since?" Jack asked, the three still smiling. Martha and the Doctor exchanged glances, thinking back over the past few months.

"_I spent all these years training to be a doctor; now I've got people to look after... I can't just leave them."  
__And the Doctor understood.  
__And Martha left. But then...  
_"_One last trip?" was offered. And then accepted._

"Oh, you know. This and that." the Doctor waved away the question absent-mindedly.

"_Doctor! Doctor, oh my God, Doctor! Look!" Martha sprinted into the room. A book was thrust to the Doctor's chest. He took it gingerly and glanced at the illustration on the page.  
_"_No…"_

"…Did some reading..." he continued mischievously.

_The Doctor's strong silhouette screamed and writhed in agony, his fingernails sinking into the hard, black leather, struggling to hold still. His tortured body squirmed and he yelled, on the regretted chair, and Martha covered her eyes, backed away, too afraid to scream._

"…Got into a bit of trouble." he finished, subconsciously hiding his reddened fingernails in his fists.

"As always." Jack interjected.

"The thing is…" Martha interrupted, prompting the Doctor; she felt sick just thinking about the Doctor's pain, she couldn't bear to think about the past months.

"Yeah, the thing is," The Doctor glanced Martha, and remembered how scared she had been before. "We need your help."

Jack looked surprised. "Me?"

Martha nodded, and the Doctor added "You and your team."

Jack recovered quickly and nodded. "Uh...okay..." he agreed, wondering what help he would be required to give. "Then I think it's time for some introductions."

* * *

Okay, I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! It took a bit longer than I hoped to get up, but it's half-term now, so the next chapter should be up pretty soon. I thought I should put this chapter up today, since Torchwood's just finished (who saw the last episode? I couldn't believe it; I cried!) and Doctor Who starts today (Yay!!).  
Hope you are all enjoying the story! Please review!


	3. And So It Begins

**Chapter 3: And So It Begins...**

Jack headed towards the 'Guest Entrance' of the hub, and the Doctor and Martha followed behind him excitedly.

"You don't mind, do you? Helping us, I mean?" the Doctor asked Jack, suddenly aware that it may have been considered rude for him to assume that Jack would automatically help him. Jack turned to face him and walked backwards to the door.

"Of course not!" he smiled. "The Torchwood team is at your disposal." The three laughed, and as they reached the door, Jack held it open for them with an anxious look.

"It's just that... you're an alien." he began, once they were all inside the small office. "I don't know what my team will... make of you." No one said something for second, then Jack waved it away. "You know what, forget about it. I'm pretty sure they think I'm an alien, so it shouldn't be a problem."

They laughed as Jack lead the way through the Cog door, wondering just what Torchwood _would_ make of the two travellers.

- - - - - - -

"Oh, they're coming in!" Gwen exclaimed, as they watched Jack lead the strangers up to the hub. No one moved for a second, and then all at once, the team rushed out of the CCTV room and headed for their stations. Toshiko automatically pulled up the computer program she was working on for Jack, Ianto ran to the coffee machine, Gwen started leafing through the paperwork on her desk, and Owen sat at his station with his feet on the desk, tossing a ball into the air.

They all pretended not to hear the Cog door slide open, and nobody turned to look as the two travellers entered the base. Jack cleared his throat, standing at the door with Martha and the Doctor, and only Owen got up and peered over to the three.

Martha was staring around the base in awe, examining everything she could see. The Doctor was stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling, waiting to meet the team.

"Hey! Will you lot get down here?" Jack called patiently, and Martha turned her attention to the now approaching Gwen, Owen, Ianto and Toshiko. Owen was the first to speak.

"Who's this then, Jack?" he asked, ignoring Gwen, who tutted loudly and rolled her eyes. She walked down to meet the newcomers with a smile and an outreached hand.

"Hi." she said with a welcoming smile, to which the Doctor and Martha smiled.

"Hi." Martha smiled back to Gwen, shaking her hand, and the Doctor said the same and gave a little wave.

"Whatever, now who are they, Jack?" Owen persisted, and Gwen sighed defeatedly.

"Ok," Jack laughed. "Torchwood, meet the Doctor, and Martha Jones." Jack indicated to each of them with his hand. "Doctor, Martha, meet Torchwood: Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, and Gwen Cooper. We are going to help the Doctor and Martha."

"With what?" Owen asked blankly.

"Good point." Jack turned to look at the Doctor. "What is it we're helping you with?"

The Doctor grinned. "Rose." was all he said.

No one spoke.

Martha and the Doctor were stood rooted to the spot, grinning like the happiest people in the universe, while Jack was standing open-mouthed in front of them, trying to frown and smile at the same time, clearly straining to find something to say. The Torchwood team were exchanging glances, finding that none of them knew what was going on.

"Y-you mean…" Jack cursed himself in his mind for stuttering, but he simply could not believe what he was hearing. He had to be dreaming. The Doctor couldn't have found a way. But they were still smiling. "There's a way?"

"Yep." the Doctor grinned, popping the 'p' with enthusiasm. "Martha found it."

"But it's not definite." Martha butted in, not wanting to get Jack's hopes up. "We've tried it out... a lot. But we can't get it to work properly. That's where you come in."

"Me?" Jack was once again surprised. Now, however, he was almost as excited as the Doctor, and his team seemed to be sharing that excitement with nervous smiles, though they had no idea what was going on. "What can I do?"

The Doctor shrugged and his face fell slightly. "Anything, Jack. Just... anything. Whatever you can. And your team can help!" he thrust his arm out to motion to the group. "If they want to..." he added as an afterthought, when he didn't receive quite the cheery response he'd expected.

"We'll help." Gwen offered, walking forwards to the Doctor and Martha. Jack frowned at her.

"We still don't know what this thing is." he stated, looking to the Doctor for an explanation.

"Tell you what," the Doctor began loudly. "Who's willing?"

Gwen, Toshiko, Jack and Ianto all raised their hands at once, and Owen, after glancing around to see who had volunteered, also put his hand in the air half-heartedly.

"Right," he continued. "Then everyone come down to the TARDIS and you can have a look."

Jack lead the way out the door, shortly followed by the Doctor, and Martha walked by the side of Toshiko and Gwen, whom she seemed to have instantly befriended. Ianto followed on after them, and Owen dragged himself out last, muttering to himself "What the hell is a TARDIS?"

- - - - - - -

"Welcome to the TARDIS." the Doctor grinned, as the Torchwood team entered the blue police box one by one.

"Uh… Jack? I don't think we're all gonna fit in there." Owen called from outside, standing behind Ianto at the back of the queue. "That or it's going to be very cramped. Which you might not object to; I mean, you'd probably quite enjoy it, but I don't think -" he trailed off into a murmur as Toshiko stepped inside after Gwen and gasped.

"What?" Owen called curiously, craning his head to see, then gave up. "Seriously Jack, have you seen the size of this thing?"

Jack's head popped out from round the side of the door, causing Ianto to stumble back in surprise. Owen pushed him back up lazily.

Jack looked to Owen. "It's fine. Now quit complaining and wait. You okay, Ianto?" he asked and Ianto nodded.

"Fine, thanks." Ianto smiled. "Sir." he added cheekily as an afterthought. Owen followed Ianto in, rolling his eyes, and stopped still as soon as he was inside. The door was closed behind him, but Owen didn't realise. He stared around the room in amazement.

"Okay, that's... different." he started, pretending that the size of the room didn't faze him. "It's... bigger on the inside." he said finally, and realised that he was being laughed at. "Come on, this _is_ weird." he insisted. "Even for us, this is... strange."

"Not too 'cramped' for your liking then?" Gwen asked boldly, and Martha and Toshiko had to refrain from laughing.

"Enough chat, I think." Jack interrupted, and the Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, so if you'd all like to follow me this way.." the Doctor headed out of the control room and up the stairs, the TARDIS humming happily at the visitors.

"What is that noise?" Toshiko whispered, since the rest of the group was in silence.

"That's the TARDIS." the Doctor replied loudly. "She's just saying hello."

The group ascended quietly again, with Ianto muttering "Hello." quietly to the ship.

"Right, here we are!" the Doctor said enthusiastically, stopping in the middle of a corridor and opening the door, a short while later. "After you." he said to everyone, and they all squeezed into the room with difficulty.

"This one's not bigger on the inside, then?" Owen asked as he walked into the room after Gwen. The door was left open when everyone was inside, so that the visitors could just about see the ripped, black, leather chair in the middle of the room, wired up to computers and monitors.

"No, but it's like this for a reason." the Doctor replied, as Jack moved forward to examine the fingernail scratch marks on the sides of the chair.

"And I'm guessing there's also a reason why we can't see a thing?" Owen added, talking to no one in particular, because he couldn't tell where anyone was, thanks to the dim, solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Yep." the Doctor replied from somewhere in the room. "When you come back, it tends to give you a bit of a migraine. The darkness helps."

"Right, and that's when you come back from... where, exactly?" Owen asked.

"Parallel universe." the Doctor said casually.

"Sorry?" Gwen asked, confused.

"Parallel universe?" Jack asked pointedly. "I thought it was, well... blocked off?"

The Doctor led the way back out of the room and everyone followed, squinting slightly at the sudden change of lighting.

"It is." the Doctor replied, leaning against the cool wall of the corridor. "Kind of."

Martha cut in impatiently, sensing that the Doctor wasn't going to explain it simply, but try to be mysterious in front of the guests. "Basically, the chair allows you to cross planets. We reckon it was originally designed as a kind of communication method for aliens. And apparently it was designed to cross between universes too. So we thought it might work on parallel universes too. And it does. A bit." She paused.

"What do you mean: "A bit"?" Jack asked, frowning. "Surely it either works, or it doesn't."

"Well, that's the thing." the Doctor stood up off the wall and faced Jack, with the rest of the Torchwood team looking between them interestedly. "I can get through... but just as an image." he sighed. "Then, after a couple of hours, I just... fade away, and it brings me back to consciousness. Or, if Martha thinks something's wrong, she'll bring me back." He looked to Martha gratefully, but she looked away almost instantly, trying to forget the numerous scenes she had witnessed in that room.

"And that's what you need help with?" Toshiko asked, speaking for the first time since she'd met the strangers.

"Yeah." the Doctor sighed again. "Think you can help?"

Toshiko smiled. "I can try."

"Try?" Jack smiled warmly. "Tosh is our computer genius; she can do more than try."

Toshiko's cheeks flushed slightly from the flattery, and she smiled happily at Jack.

"That's what I like to hear." the Doctor smiled in return, leading the way back to the console room of the TARDIS.

"So, we're really doing this?" Martha asked excitedly. "You might actually get Rose back?"

"Yeah." the Doctor leaned back onto the centre mechanism and smiled. "I just might."

* * *

Firstly, I hope you liked the chapter. I know it was pretty uneventful, but trust me, I'm hoping I will more than make up for that in chapter 5.  
Secondly, once again, please review with comments, criticisms; whatever. It only takes a minute!  
Thirdly, how amazing is the new series of Doctor Who? =D I'm loving it, are you?


	4. Fears, Findings, Thoughts and Regrets

**Chapter 4: Fears, Findings, Thoughts and Regrets**

"So, what's the plan?" Owen asked around the hub, receiving no answer. All eyes turned either to Jack or the Doctor, who looked to one another for an answer.

"Uh..." Jack started, searching his mind for something that might help.

"Yeah, well... that's the thing. We don't actually know what else to do." the Doctor interrupted lamely. "I mean, we've tried almost everything. We've doubled the strength, tripled the strength, even reversed the strength. I've fiddled with the polarity, the magnetic charges; I just don't know how to do it."

"Or if we can do it." Martha added quietly. Everyone stood in silence for a moment, and Ianto returned, handing out coffee, which everyone took gratefully, with warm smiles.

- - - - - - -

Gwen waved goodbye cheerily as she walked out of the hub, hoping to lift Jack and the Doctor's spirits with a smile. She left to have dinner with Rhys. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder what would happen when he got Rose back. Would they keep travelling? Journey through space and time; never looking back? Or would they settle down after a while? Do human things, like make dinner and see movies? Martha ran to the door, to say goodbye and have a quick chat. What would happen to Martha? Would she go? He knew that he'd miss her, but what would Rose would make of her if she stayed?

Owen left soon after, giving nothing but a murmured "Bye..." as he walked towards the cog door. Would Rose have met another man? The Doctor's hearts sunk. What if she was happily married? Or had a boyfriend, at least? Would she still want to be with him? It amazed him how, after having worked on the device for months, he could have overlooked something so simple.

Toshiko left the latest, saying nothing as she walked out the door. What would Rose being doing now? She said she was with Torchwood. Would that have lasted? Maybe she was enjoying it too much to leave; or what if it had been dangerous and she'd been hurt? He looked back over all the times they had travelled together. Each one bringing danger and death.

The Doctor was left to his thoughts for a while as Jack and Martha chatted, catching up and telling stories. Their laughter interrupted his thoughts cruelly, clearing his mind of the memories that had been washing over him seconds before. He cleared his voice unnecessarily and glanced to the pair. He smiled; Martha deserved this. After all he'd put her through over the last few months, she needed a break. No wonder she'd been so pleased when he announced that they needed Jack.

Putting all thoughts of Rose and Martha aside, he returned his focus to the blueprint of the chair, refitting his glasses to his face and studying the ancient book wearily.

The Doctor wasn't aware of how long he'd been researching the chair when Martha placed a soft, cold hand on his shoulder. His thoughts had once again drifted, and it seemed that he wasn't the only person who had found nothing helpful that night. He was aware of Martha speaking quietly to him, but wasn't listening to the words; she said something about the cold, and headed out the hub door to the TARDIS. The Doctor silently cursed himself for allowing his mind to wander, when he could be getting Rose back, right now. He worked on through the night, only occasionally stopping to stand up and stretch or to make a cup of coffee. Jack seemed to have other things to do; he stayed in his office mostly, coming out from time to time to ask if the Doctor had found anything.

The answer was always the same: a sigh and a murmured "No", while the Doctor tried to sound strong and undefeated.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor opened his eyes with a start, lifted his head off the table and pushed himself upright, as he heard the cog door slide open and the alarm sound noisily, disturbing his sleep. He grunted and blinked a few times, readjusting to his surroundings. Though it was still dim in the large, underground room, it was clearly morning. He sighed, rubbing his neck, as he remembered the night before...

_It was far past midnight, though he didn't know the exact time. He had been so tired, and couldn't focus on the pages in front of his eyes. He closed his eyes, just for a second, and laid his forehead on the edge of the cool, metal table, clenching his stool with both hands for fear of falling off with weakness. Empty coffee cups and dozens of books surrounded him, open to pages that he had yet to read, but he couldn't concentrate; his eyes prickled with exhaustion and his back and neck ached, but he wouldn't give in._

_He promised himself he would find Rose, and with the thought of her strong in his mind, he pushed his head off the desk with great strain and forced himself to continue reading, glancing over the Gallifreyan diagrams and alien texts with little interest. But soon, his enervation overwhelmed him, and he felt his head reach the desk once again as he fell into a deep, long-awaited sleep, soon to be disturbed by dreadful dreams one after the other, of beaches in Norway and levers of doom and death._

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Martha creeping towards him quietly. He focused once more on the books and pretended to read, giving his mind a moment to wake up. He guessed that he must have had a couple of hours of sleep, judging by the fact that he was marginally more alert than he had been before he fell asleep, although he doubted that the sun had risen yet.

Finding that the Doctor was awake, Martha walked into view. The Doctor looked up to her face. She was glancing over the books with mild interest, tilting her head to read some of them. When her gaze met the Doctor's, she smiled weakly, and his eyes returned to the books.

"Hi." she began timidly. "Sorry. I know I said I'd come back, but I went into my room and I just drifted off and -"

"It's fine." the Doctor said quickly, and Martha sighed quietly with relief.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"No." the Doctor replied solemnly, not lifting his eyes from the crisp, discoloured pages.

No one spoke, and the Doctor continued reading silently. Martha pulled up a stool, and soon, all that could be heard was the random flicking of pages, or the soft screech of a stool scraping along the ground as someone changed their position.

Jack walked down from his office a while later, holding a couple of large, tatty books under his arm. His loud voice brought Martha and the Doctor out of their trance and they both looked up to greet him as he spoke.

"Well, it's official." he began, jumping down the steps energetically. The Doctor instantly envied his vigour, but didn't say a word. "I cannot look at one of these things without falling asleep." He held out the books with disgust and dropped them on the desk next to Martha and the Doctor with a loud bang that made the Doctor wince with tiredness.

"Any luck down here?" he asked hopefully, though he didn't seem to expect any good news. Martha shook her head with a sigh, but the doctor didn't answer.

"There has to be... something!" she cried, letting her frustration vent through her as she stood up and sighed dramatically. "Anything at all. We need to try harder."

The Doctor didn't reply once more, and flicked a page over dazedly. He knew that they had both slept, maybe for most of the might, and he secretly resented them for it. Martha was right, they needed to try harder, but the Doctor had to refrain from muttering "Speak for yourselves." as she said it. Here he was, with aching muscles and tiredness, and another bout of sleep threatening to wash over him at any minute, whilst Martha and Jack had slept dreamlessly, and probably eaten well too. As he gritted his teeth and glanced over the next pages, the cog door scraped open behind them again, and the klaxon sounded once more.

"Hello?" Toshiko called out, and Jack walked down to meet her briskly. They could be heard whispering in the background, just quiet enough that their words couldn't be made out by Martha and the Doctor. Martha had returned to her stool and was picking up a second book, dropping the first that she had been reading on the floor with a thud.

"Found anything?" Toshiko whispered to Martha as she walked over, glancing over the books on the table with interest. As Martha shook her head slowly, Toshiko pulled up a stool and rifled through the books.

"I looked on the internet a bit - well, all night really - and I found nothing. Not one piece of information on communication through worlds or transportation chairs. Thought I got close once, but it was something about universities, not universes. I must have misread it the first few times." she smiled nervously.

At this, the Doctor looked up gratefully. To hear that someone else had been looking all night, to know that someone got close to finding something, made his own wasted night seem helpful somehow. He smiled at her, letting her know that he appreciated it, and when he saw the tiredness in her eyes, he knew that she could sense how important this was.

- - - - - - -

The rest of Torchwood filtered in later that morning, and it became clear that no one except Toshiko had tried very hard to find anything helpful. In a way, the Doctor understood, and he knew that he couldn't expect them all to give up their lives for him, but a little part of him wanted to yell at them all, to make them see that this was killing him, to force them to understand how he felt for his lost love.

The day dragged on quietly and the Doctor barely moved from the desk. The Torchwood team would rush around, occasionally having to sort out problems with the rift and once, go out 'Weevil-hunting' - a sport that Jack and Ianto seemed to enjoy more than the others. The Doctor didn't move from the stool. Every couple of hours, Martha, Gwen and Toshiko would go out for some air, and the Doctor was reminded of what he had put his companion through, and why she didn't deserve this terrifying fear hanging over her head.

Once every so often, someone would approach him cautiously, like an active bomb about to explode. He'd be asked if he wanted anything, if he'd found anything, if there was anything anyone could do for him, and it drove him crazy. He'd shake his head furiously, blinking back the bitter tears with remorse. He wouldn't lift his head, but would watch the figure walking away from the corner of his eyes, resenting them because they weren't emotionally attached to the case; they could go about their jobs without heartache or despair; they could sleep without haunting dreams, and awake without seeing the face of a lost partner.

When, finally, the Doctor lifted his head from its awkward position, he was greeted with sounds that he guessed must have been continuing throughout the day, though he couldn't remember hearing anything. The hum of the computers, whirring away in the background, and taps of feet on the hard, metal floor echoing throughout the place; laughter and voices from across the room, isolating the Doctor from everyone else.

Ianto was with Jack, just walking in through the door, smiling, holding hands and breaking apart as they went separate ways. Ianto walked over to Owen, who was laughing with Gwen, Martha and Toshiko about something, and the Doctor followed his eyeline along to the group. He had yet to see Owen, Ianto or Gwen helping at all, and seeing Martha with them, laughing and wiping away tears of joy from her cheerful eyes, he felt his heart sink.

He had been neglecting her. He knew that she had been miserable and he had continued to ignore her, putting his want for Rose before her feelings. He cursed himself silently, and looked up to where Jack was entering his office again. He walked around his desk in silence, and the Doctor's attention soon turned back to the rest of the team and Martha. Seeing them together, like old friends catching up, the Doctor felt more alone than he'd ever been. He felt selfish, forcing Martha to help him and now pushing his problems onto Jack.

'_Stop it.' _the Doctor told himself irritably. _'Just stop it. This isn't helping anyone, and it certainly isn't helping to get Rose back. They agreed to help; they said they would, so don't blame yourself.' _He had almost convinced himself that he was doing the right thing when Martha jogged over happily.

"Hey. We're just going out for a bit; you know, have a bit of a break. D'you want to come?" she asked, overlooking the books and smiling to the Doctor. He glanced past her to the group. They were still laughing as they put on their coats. He turned his gaze to Jack, sat down at his desk, smiling mischievously at something on his computer screen. His blood boiled. He breathed deeply, trying to control himself, but all his emotions from the past few months overwhelmed him, his tiredness and fatigue getting the best of him, and he clenched his hands into fists below the table.

"A break from what?" he spat quietly, looking straight into Martha's cheery eyes, and the laughter stopped. He was aware of the silence from that moment; he knew that everyone's attention was on himself and Martha. She shrunk away and looked down, flushing with embarrassment. The Doctor's senses told him to calm down, that she had been through enough, that she didn't deserve this.

But he ignored them, and threw his fists down onto the desk with force. Pain seared through his arms, but he revelled in it, recalling the times over the past few months when he'd wished for an answer, longed for a sign. He felt like he would explode; his hearts pounded simultaneously and his mind was on fire with anguish. He wanted to scream out to the room, to rip his chest open and let them feel his pain.

"A break from what?" he asked again, louder, feeling his eyes prickle with anger. "Which of you has tried? Who has _really_ tried?!" his voice yelled out inhumanly to the room. He was standing, though in his state of dazed absent-mindedness, he wasn't sure when he'd stood up. He was talking to everyone now, and even Jack had walked down to see what the disturbance was.

"You said you would help!" he cried madly, feeling a long-suppressed, salty tear run down his cheek. Warm, red blood seeped from under his fists onto the thick, yellowed pages of an open book. He felt alive, for the first time in weeks. He was burning inside, and he wouldn't rest until everyone knew. "You promised me; you all said you would help me! And you've done nothing!"

He screamed inside, his muscles burning, and he glanced around the room madly. Jack was looking at the floor, sorrow in his eyes. He was upset with himself, and the Doctor was glad. He saw Gwen and Ianto, slightly open-mouthed and distressed over what to do. Owen was sat down, looking uncomfortable but not regretful, and the Doctor's anger increased.

"You all lied! You haven't helped me!" he spat the words from his mouth cruelly, hissing the words with rage and venom. It took all his strength to stop himself from lashing out and striking Martha with his fists, just to show her how much he was hurting. He saw Toshiko gulping back tears, and he paused, breathing heavily, regretting his anger suddenly, but still feeling the pain.

His eyes found Martha's once more and he looked into them with horror, realising what terrible thoughts he was thinking, and pleading for her to help him. But she was frozen to the spot with fear, and the look on her face mirrored her expression each time she had pulled him back from the parallel world. He gulped, still breathing loudly, and glanced down for less than a second; his vision blurred out of focus as tiny drops of water welled up, regretted, in his strong, brown eyes. In that brief time, he realised what he was doing, and stopped still with realisation. He wasn't mad at them; he was mad at himself.

He was infuriated that he hadn't found anything, and that he had let Martha get so involved. He fumed that he had brought so many others into this, and he stared into Martha's eyes with urgency, letting his piteous brown eyes bore into hers. She snapped back to life almost instantly, rushing forward around the table just as the Doctor's knees buckled with the sudden change from rage to regret, and he fell down onto the stool, supported by Matha's hand nervously laid on his shoulder.

He leant back on the stool weakly, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings once more. He continued to breathe roughly, and he swung out violently at the table, in pure frustration at his actions. Martha wrapped one arm over his back comfortingly, and a second tear flowed down his cheek with resentment. The Torchwood team seemed to spring into action, sensing that the outburst was over, and not wanting to be caught up with any uncomfortable awkwardness.

Owen jumped down to his medical station, searching for bandages to cover the Doctor's wounded hands. Ianto bounded over to the coffee machine hastily, not making eye contact with anyone. Jack started down from the staircase on which he had come halfway before stopping to listen to the unexpected explosion of emotion. Toshiko didn't move however, and the Doctor felt despair fill his mind over her; she had helped, she had really tried, as hard as he had, and she didn't deserve the scolding at all. He became suddenly aware of the pain rushing through his hands, and the dark red blood-stains sliding over the pages of the manuscript before him.

Owen walked over to him quickly, and he felt bandages being wrapped around his palms as he breathed deeply and calmed himself. When his hands were once again free, him reached up to touch his face. He brought his fingers away from his cheeks to find them wet, and he frantically brushed the harsh, icy tears from his face, seeing weakness in them. He buried his face in his hands and composed himself to sit back up strongly, and when he did so he found that his eyes met with Jack's. Everyone had filtered away quickly, leaving just Jack and Martha to comfort the Doctor as he wiped his reddened eyes with the sleeves of his jacket ashamedly.

"I'm sorry." he apologised remorsefully, glad that he had the strength to do so, but still thinking that they had deserved his anger. They apparently sensed this, as they both shook their heads in remorse.

"Don't be." Martha said quietly, rubbing unshed tears from her eyes. "You were right. We aren't trying hard enough, and we could help more." This time, the Doctor shook his head.

"You deserve a chance to laugh." he told Martha slowly. "I've been selfish, keeping you shut up in the TARDIS for so long. And Jack," he turned to face his old friend. "I shouldn't have brought you into it." Jack looked about to interrupt, but the Doctor finished before he could. "It's not your problem, or your team's, and all I've done is disturb things." No one spoke for a while, before they heard a gasp from behind them, followed shortly afterwards by the clattering of china falling to the ground. The three looked over to the desk from which the sound had come to see Toshiko bending over to pick up the broken mug.

"Shoot..." Toshiko said crossly, placing the pieces delicately on the desk before immediately returning her gaze to the computer screen in front of her.

"You okay down there?" Jack called out concernedly, but Toshiko didn't answer. "Tosh?" he tried again, and her dazed state was broken.

"What?" she asked with wide-eyes. "Oh, it's just, well, I-I don't know."

Martha frowned at her bewildered expression and the Doctor followed her and Jack down to Toshiko's station.

"What is it?" Jack asked, who was now also frowning, as well as the Doctor, who was still recovering from the shock of his outburst and couldn't find his voice. He looked down guiltily when Toshiko's eyes met his.

"I - I think I've found something."

* * *

You lot are lucky to get a chapter this long :P I prefer writing in smaller chunks, but I thought I owed you a chapter with some drama, so here it is! I know, it doesn't have that much speech, but is more of an insight into the Doctor's mind. I hope it was well written; I had great fun writing it, though it did make me sad to write the Doctor so upset. What did you guys think of it?  
The story is kind of going a different way to how I originally planned it, but don't worry, I know what I'm doing, and you really, _really_ don't want to stop reading now. Don't worry though, there's only 1, maybe 2 chapters left!

I thought this chapter was great when I first wrote it, but now that I'm reading through it again, I'm not too sure about it, and I was considering scrapping it and redoing the whole thing, but I decided against it. So, as per usual, please, please review; it makes my day. And don't be nice! I want to know your honest thoughts; I can take it! :P  
I'm a little disappointed that so many of you have put the story in your alert list and haven't reviewed it at all though :( -moans until you give in and leave a review-  
:P


	5. Translations and Transcripts

**Chapter 5: Translations and Transcripts**

The Doctor's head snapped up with interest, his sore eyes growing wide and the faint ghost of a smile appearing on his face, for the first time in what felt like years. Martha let out a sound that was a cross between a relieved sigh and a laugh, and Owen, Ianto and Gwen rushed over to see what was happening. Jack's frown broke into a grin and he exchanged joyous glances with Martha.

"I'm not sure though!" she interrupted loudly, to stop the room becoming too excited. She was too late, as the Doctor walked round to see the screen in desperation.

"I don't care." he said, softly but urgently. "Anything will do." He looked at the screen, and instantly, a frown appeared on his face and he squinted, peering at the monitor.

"What the hell is that?" He looked to Toshiko with confused eyes as he saw the strange, foreign writing on the page. "The TARDIS is supposed to translate languages, but what's all that about?" He stared indignantly at Toshiko, Martha and Jack in turn, and Jack couldn't help but laugh at the Doctor's put out expression.

- - - - - - -

Toshiko stood confidently at the front of the room, pointing to the document being projected onto the wall. Everyone was sat around the oval desk, and their faces turned to the screen as strange symbols and letters appeared. Immediately, everyone's face turned to hers and the Doctors with confusion.

"Now, the reason why we can't read it," Toshiko began loudly, before anyone could ask questions. "Is because it's in code. Presumably, that's why the, uh, TARDIS isn't translating it for you. It doesn't need to be translated, it needs to be decoded." There were murmurs of "Oh, right..." through the room and the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses. Shoving them onto his nose urgently, he glanced over the projection with curiosity.

"Where did you find it?" he asked Toshiko, frowning, whilst leaning forwards over the desk to examine the page that was being projected in the office.

"I, uh, hacked into the Ministry of Defence's blueprint files." she said proudly, smiling. The Doctor grinned back at her.

"Anyway, I was attracted to this particular file because when I decoded the title, it was "Communication Across Countries". It's basically a transcript of a conversation all the world leaders had, about the ways in which countries can communicate if there's some big, nuclear disaster, from what I can tell. I'm running it through the decoding program now, but I'm pretty sure I saw the words "universal travel" and "chair" in there somewhere."

The Doctor glanced around the table hopefully, and after a few moments, a loud beep was emitted from the speakers linked up to the computer. The entire room looked at the computer, then at Toshiko, in turn. Nervously, she opened the decoded file on the computer and it was projected to the screen for everyone to read in anticipated silence.

A short while passed, with no sound as everyone read through the document eagerly.

The Doctor was the first to reach the end of the page.

"Oh." his shoulders dropped. His face fell to a glare as he read over the last sentence, written in bold at the far bottom of the page, over and over again.

'_Note that this device is extremely unstable and may cause injury to the user. It requires a great energy source, and must be used only as a last resort. Also note that although this particular design of chair can, on occasions, present the user with the ability to travel to the location he or she wishes, this requires energy of immense volume and is largely disapproved, as the process would require large amounts of dangerous and unpredictable alien technology.'_

The rest of the room finished reading shortly, and the suspense was broken by Martha asking "Well, that's good, isn't it?" nervously. All eyes turned to her.

"I-I mean, we've got the TARDIS. You've said yourself how powerful it is; how its power is stored in the 'heart of the TARDIS', or whatever. Couldn't we just use that?"

"Well, we could, yeah." the Doctor began, but not sounding hopeful. "But to start with, the TARDIS is still recovering from all the energy we used to power the rocket to Utopia -"

"Still?" Jack asked, frowning disbelievingly. "But, that was months ago!"

"Exactly," the Doctor continued, scratching his chin in thought. "Even that boost to the rocket drained most of it's power, and we'd only just refuelled."

"Why don't you just refuel it again, then?" Owen asked, as if stating the obvious.

"Well, yeah, we _could _do that, yeah. But the TARDIS is old; she's wasting away, deteriorating. I don't think she'd hold as much energy as they're talking about. Still," he added indignantly. "Who's technology are they calling 'dangerous and unpredictable', when you can hack into UNIT's system and launch a missile with three clicks?"

Gwen, Jack and Martha looked at him curiously, not knowing whether or not he was joking. Toshiko studied his expression, trying to figure him out, but Ianto and Owen looked puzzled, shaking off the comment.

"Why don't we use the rift?" Ianto suddenly suggested. "Tons of power in that."

The Doctor nodded his head thoughtfully. "Well, sure, that's what I use to refuel the TARDIS, so I guess if there was a way to open the rift; harness the power -"

"No. " Jack interrupted. "We're not reopening the rift. Doctor, Martha, you probably missed it, but last time we opened the rift, hell broke loose."

"Ohh, that was you." the Doctor smiled, figuring out why the rift had been active when he and Martha had come to refuel.

"Yeah." Owen said, rolling his eyes upon remembering the havoc. "But that was before, Jack. Abaddon's dead, isn't he? So if we opened the rift again now..."

"We still don't know what could happen. Sorry Doctor; I want Rose back just as much as you, but it wasn't just Abaddon that came out of the rift. Time itself splintered. You remember everything else that came through the rift after you opened it?"

Owen nodded with clenched teeth, wanting to get off the subject. "Alright, fine. But there's got to be something the rift can do."

- - - - - - -

The rest of the day was spent reading through yet more ancient manuscripts and constantly fiddling with rift manipulators and energy source blueprints. Owen suggested once that they should "just rip it open", but his proposal was immediately dismissed and he was given a warning glance to keep him quiet, and several smirks from the females of the room.

"Here," Martha began, for the umpteenth time that hour. "It says that we can 'catch and store energy of large proportions using this efficient, easy to use capsule.'" Jack walked over to look at the catalogue page.

"You might want to take a look at the information page." he suggested casually, wandering back to his own research desk. Martha flicked to the back of the book and sighed.

"Oh." she said, sadly.

"What is it?" Toshiko asked, looking up from her computer screen.

"It's from the year 6459BC." Martha held up the catalogue, though no one could read the miniature writing. "And… Venus!" she added, surprised.

"There was life on Venus? In 6459BC?" Gwen asked, awestruck.

"Why don't we go there then?" Owen asked blankly. "You've got a time machine, right? What's the problem?"

"Have you seen it lately?" Jack asked him, pointing to the TARDIS, which had been moved inside.

"Oh. Right." he finished lamely, when he saw the many wires and cables leading out the TARDIS, linking its energy storage area with the rift manipulator in the centre of the hub. "Why's it doing that again?"

"It had hardly any power. And I need as much as possible." the Doctor said, looking up from the book he was reading and stretching his back and arms. "Leaving it out there to gather energy is fine, but it's a hundred times quicker this way." he jerked his head towards the door as he spoke, then returned to studying the book intensely.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor was thankful that the day was fairly uneventful for Torchwood. There were no weevils, no strange deaths or injuries, not even any weird or faked alien sightings. The group spent the entire day reading, translating, decoding and analysing anything from cartoons to classified government files.

Owen slammed shut the last book on his desk and sighed.

"Right," he began wearily. "I'm done." Toshiko glanced over for a second and smiled as Gwen turned round with a frown.

"You can take some of mine then!" she said happily, dumping a couple more books on Owen's table behind her, and turning back to her own desk. Toshiko returned her gaze to the computer screen as Owen scowled behind Gwen's back.

Now Gwen sighed. She looked up and stared around the room, seeing who had the least books left to read through. Jack was sat directly in front of her, facing her but with a computer screen blocking his face.

To Jack's left was Martha, who was blinking tiredly and rubbing her eyes, apparently taking a break from reading to rest her eyes. She glanced at the largest pile of books and was immediately was glad it wasn't her own pile, which, thanks to Owen, now only consisted of two fairly short transcripts.

Next to her was Ianto, who had joined in the researching after getting bored of making coffee every twenty minutes, but had regretted it when everyone had then given him a good proportion of their own pile. He had progressed well, considering this, and just had one Egyptian-looking scroll left in his pile.

Right at the back of the room was the Doctor, frowning at something and glancing between two blueprints furiously, as if searching for something that should be there but isn't. He has also finished his pile and was re-reading it, which Gwen assumed was something to do with the fact that every time any of the Torchwood team and Martha stopped to take a break for fresh air, get a drink, or go to the toilet, he refused to move from the desk.

Gwen looked down at her watch; it was almost nine o'clock.

"Whoa." she breathed, and Jack lowered the screen.

"What?" he asked, breaking the silence. She looked up, not realising she'd spoken.

"Oh, it's just a bit later than I thought it was." she said, not mentioning that she hadn't even realised it was gone six.

Ianto glanced up too, setting his magazine-like book down on the table to join in the conversation.

"I don't think we're going to find anything." he said quietly, so the Doctor wouldn't hear. "I haven't gotten close once."

Jack sighed. "It doesn't look good." he agreed, glancing over his shoulder at the Doctor, who had thrown the blueprints on the floor with annoyance and was now studying a miniature book with a magnifying glass. "Okay, we'll just finish off these piles, and carry on tomorrow." Gwen and Ianto exchanged glances.

"Tomorrow? There's more?" Gwen asked disbelievingly. "He can't have anymore books. We've read through thousands of them!" Martha looked up at Gwen's slightly raised voice, but the Doctor didn't respond, being too absorbed in the tiny text to hear.

"Look, I know it's hard on you guys, but we're not just doing this for the Doctor." Ianto frowned, and leaned in to whisper.

"Who else then, Martha? Sorry Jack, but she seems to regret ever finding out about the chair, and not just because of the non-stop reading."

"Not Martha. Me." Jack said, and Gwen and Ianto frowned slightly. "This is important to _me_. Yeah, she was in love with the Doctor, and he - even if he didn't admit it - was in love with her. But I want her back too. She was incredible, like a sister to me, and she -" Jack paused. Gwen looked expectantly at him and Ianto frowned. He continued quietly. "She's the reason I can't die." Gwen's eyes widened, and Ianto's mouth dropped open. "She brought me back to life; gave me a second chance. And I would do anything to give her and the Doctor the same."

Ianto swallowed and his mouth snapped shut. Neither him nor Gwen spoke, but returned to their books guiltily.

Jack froze for a second. Ianto had a point about Martha.

"Hey," Jack whispered, so quietly that Ianto only just heard, and had to lean in to meet Jack's gaze.

"Yeah?" he asked, just as quietly. Jack leaned in too, his face inches from Ianto's.

"What did you mean just now, about Martha?"

"Well, you know, how she's... you know." Ianto replied unhelpfully, and Jack shrugged his shoulders to show that he didn't. Ianto leaned in even further.

"You know, how she's in love with the Doctor!" he whispered, almost silently. Jack's shoulders dropped with surprise and his eyes met Ianto's questioningly.

"What?" he mouthed, disbelievingly.

"You didn't notice?" Ianto mouthed back, as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth. Jack shook his head slowly.

"You think so?" he whispered, and Ianto shrugged, then nodded.

"It's pretty clear. And she obviously doesn't want him to find this 'Rose'."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, Jack trying to figure out Ianto's mind, and Ianto purely admiring the swirls of greeny-blue that were Jack's eyes. Jack pulled back slowly, thinking about Ianto's suggestion, and Ianto cleared his throat awkwardly and looked down at his book.

- - - - - - -

Ianto finished working through his books first, and got up to stretch and get some air. Gwen finished minutes after, and headed outside to join him. They were shortly followed by Toshiko, and finally, Owen, who dragged himself outside whilst muttering about "Bloody Gwen..."

About half an hour later, Jack stood up, stretched, and switched the computer off with a sigh.

"Nothing there." he said quietly, just loud enough for the Doctor to hear. Martha looked up; she still had two books left to read, and Jack thought back over the afternoon. Each moment he had looked up, he had found her staring into space or biting her lip worriedly. He thought back to Ianto's comment, wondering whether he might have had a point after all. With the thought in his mind, Jack turned around and left Martha and the Doctor reading, heading up to his office.

- - - - - - -

Martha finished a while later, and slammed her last book shut with a sense of achievement.

"Finished." she said cheerily, turning to look at the Doctor. He looked up with no expression, and Martha's smile faded. "Sorry." she added. "There was… nothing."

The Doctor nodded gravely and returned to the book. Martha realised that his pile of finished books had somehow become smaller than the books he had left to read, and Martha realised that he must have gone to get more during the day, though she hadn't noticed when he had.

When the Doctor showed no signs of getting up to follow her back to the TARDIS, Martha cleared her throat.

"Are you… coming in?" she asked tentatively. The Doctor looked up with faked energy.

"No, I think I'll probably finish these first." he replied, knowing full well that it would take him the entire night. Martha sighed.

"You need to rest." she walked forwards to sit opposite him. He looked up, and Martha saw his tired, aching eyes.

"No." he argued wearily. "I need Rose." he added simply, looking back down, and Martha opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again uselessly.

"You're no help to anyone when you're this tired." she insisted quietly. "Just a couple of hours of rest. Please?"

The Doctor looked up again, like a child being told what to do by his parents.

"Fine." he stood up, leaving the book he was reading open, face down, on the desk. "Fine." He followed Martha to the TARDIS, admitting defeat at last. Martha gave him a small smile as they walked in and paced to their rooms in silence. They said goodnight quietly as they reached their doors, and Martha went in and closed her door softly, falling onto her bed and drifting off to sleep almost immediately, still fully dressed.

The Doctor sighed as he leant his back against the cold metal door, pushing it closed with a soft click. The TARDIS hummed softly, happily, upon seeing him back in his room, and he smiled weakly. Knowing that he wouldn't sleep, he went to lie down on his bed, before seeing the open shoebox lying on it. He sat on the edge of the bed gently, picking up the closest photo. In it, he was grinning madly, hugging Rose from behind. She, in turn, was smiling madly and laughing, and the Doctor looked back to the moment with a faint smile lighting up his weary face. They had only popped back for Rose to visit Jackie, but it seemed to have turned into then staying for a cup of coffee, then for the afternoon, and before they knew it, they were staying for dinner. On the reverse, it read "The Doctor and Rose, 2008" in the Doctor's scruffy style, and at the bottom, in Rose's small handwriting, it read "(and Jackie!)". Smirking, the Doctor flipped over the photo again, and there, indeed, was Jackie Tyler, popping her head round the corner to laugh at her daughter's joy. The Doctor sniffed, blinking the tears out of his eyes, and then sighed leisurely, placing the photo gently back inside the box. He picked up some others and looked through them slowly.

No, he definitely wouldn't be sleeping tonight, he thought, as he lay back onto the bed to flick through the memories of the shoebox.

* * *

Sorry guys, I know I said that chapter 5 would be the last chapter, but I promise, there's just one left!

I'm really sorry that it was so uneventful, but hopefully it created a better atmosphere for the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed it anyway, and you know the drill: Review please!


	6. One Friend Is Lost, An Old Friend Found

Ok, so I decided to put up the final chapter in two parts, because it was way too long, and this is easier for me. Here's the first part.

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* * *

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**Chapter 6: One Friend Is Lost, An Old Friend Found**

Within a few hours, the Doctor had looked through the entire shoebox twice, and had grown bored of waiting around in his room. He crept up to the door and poked his head outside, and hearing Martha's steady breathing next door, slid open the door and sneaked out. He tip-toed along the corridor with the faint sense that the TARDIS was laughing at him, and was sat at his desk in the hub within the next few minutes. Sighing, and relaxed, he picked up the book he had been dragged away from, and began to read. After a few paragraphs, the doctor realised that this was not what he had been reading before. He frowned, picking up the book to inspect it. No, it had definitely turned over about three pages from where the Doctor had left it, face down, on the table. He spun around, getting the feeling someone was watching him. Smiling slightly, he sighed. There was no one there. He was just being paranoid, thank goodness.

He turned back to the book and was about to flick the page back when he heard the squeaking of a chair behind him. He spun around again.

"You don't want to do that." Toshiko suggested, looking around the side of the computer screen at the Doctor. She sat back upright and the Doctor walked over to where she was sat at the computer.

"I found something in that book of yours." she answered to the Doctor's unasked question. "It was about collecting and storing power. So I looked it up in UNIT's files - you were right, they really lack security there - and found… this. The chair works fine, it just needs more power to be able to work across dimensions so big." She tapped a button and a website appeared on the screen. Adjusting the screen so he could read the writing, the Doctor slid on his glasses with anticipation. Upon reading the page, he looked at Toshiko.

"And could we do this?" he asked her, doubtful. She nodded slowly.

"I think so… yeah, I don't see why not." She smiled, and the Doctor's face lit up.

"But, that's brilliant!" he cried, jumping on the spot. "One hundred percent _fantastic_!" He kissed Toshiko on the forehead with joy, lifting her up off the ground in the process, and ran back to the desk to pick up the book.

"Amazing! Completely brilliant!" he laughed madly and grinned with so much energy, he began to wonder whether he actually had fallen asleep after all. Toshiko grinned amusedly in return, and, in a state of dazed bliss, the Doctor threw the book on the computer desk almost carelessly.

"Right, what have we got to -"

"What's going on?" Martha cut him off cautiously, approaching the two. "I thought you said you were going to rest?" she raised her eyebrows to the Doctor, but he laughed and bounded over to her.

"Oh, but it's all good now!" he cried, spinning her around with glee. "It's going to be fine, Martha! Everything's going back to how it should be!" Martha smiled with faked happiness for the Doctor, and feigned laughter as he spun her around in the middle of the room. A lump rose in her throat as he released her and jumped back down to the computer. She walked over to the pair slowly, her faked smile fading away into a sad frown.

She'd never thought to ask what would happen to her if the Doctor got Rose back. She sat down on a stool subconsciously, just registering the voices of the Doctor and Toshiko in the background. He wouldn't want her around when he got Rose back, and she guessed that Rose wouldn't be too pleased with her staying either. But she didn't want to get kicked out. No, she still had her dignity. She'd tell the Doctor she was going to leave; after all, this was supposed to be her one last trip. Now she just needed to find the right moment to tell him.

- - - - - - -

The 'right moment' didn't seem to want to be found; all morning, as the Torchwood team filtered in one after the other, the Doctor grew excessively happier, and Martha couldn't bring herself to do it. Seeing him like this, it reminded her of his expressions in the box of photos, in his room, and she loved seeing him so happy, even if it _was_ because of Rose.

There was no researching or reading today, except for reading out instructions to Toshiko and the Doctor about how to make the energy capsule, which took almost the entire day to complete. This was mostly due to how complicated it was, but also because of the Doctor being so ecstatic with cheerfulness that he could barely work for an hour without losing concentration.

The Doctor and Toshiko worked away at the device for the whole morning, barely talking, other than when they stopped for a break. Owen was in charge of reading out the instructions to them, a job which Toshiko nearly stripped him of when he read the wrong line, causing them to spend forty minutes attaching a screw that they then had to spend twenty minutes removing. Ianto would occasionally bring over some coffee, which was soon forbidden near the working area, after a near explosion when the tiniest drop dripped onto a bare wire. Gwen preoccupied herself with something on the computer, often wandering over to see how they were getting on, and Jack and Martha wandered around the workbench or watched from the side, as the Doctor and Toshiko worked away endlessly.

Jack seemed to have brightened up as well at the good news; in fact, everyone seemed to be a lot happier now that the Doctor's spirits were back up, and even Martha managed to laugh along with Jack's crazy stories and Owen's strangely comical, albeit very rude, alien jokes.

The newly formed pair of the Doctor and Toshiko toiled away in the hub for hours, fiddling with screws, attaching pieces of metal and soldering wire to the minuscule machine, that would soon be holding enough power to allow the Doctor to reach an alternate dimension. After they stopped for a brief lunch, the Doctor had calmed down slightly, which made the progress in the afternoon a little faster, and the team had finished by nightfall.

When at last, the capsule was completed, the Doctor bounded around the room with such energy that Jack burst into laughter as he rushed around the room, shaking everyone's hand and thanking them for their help. Even when Owen frowned at him sceptically, saying "We don't even know if it'll work yet!", the Doctor wasn't fazed. He simply grinned insanely at him, and replied with a jubilant "Oh, but can't you just feel it? Everything is going to be fine!"

- - - - - - -

"So, what's the plan now?" Jack asked, as everyone took their seats around the huge table in the main office. Boxes of Chinese food were passed around the desk as everyone turned to the Doctor.

"Well," he began, leaning across the table so he could see everyone. "Now that we've got the power capsule, I'll link it to the chair, and that way I'll be able to fully transport myself there and back. It means that I'll literally be in another place; I'll be physically disconnected from the chair; the only way I can get back is telepathically."

Gwen frowned. "Well, isn't that dangerous?" she asked, and the Doctor breathed out slowly.

"Yeah. It is. But I trained myself to do it when I used it before, as an image, so it should be fine."

"Should?" Martha asked worriedly.

"Well, there _is_ a small chance that I could be stuck there -"

"What?" Martha interrupted, dumbstruck.

"A very small chance. An extremely tiny, little chance." the Doctor clarified, though not sounding completely certain.

Martha, though not convinced, didn't reply, and listened to the rest of the Doctor's theory.

"So, I'll transport myself to the parallel world, find Rose, and use…" the Doctor fiddled around in his pockets, the entire room hanging onto his every word, and at last, his hand re-emerged, clasping a large metal disc with a slightly unclean look to it. It was hanging on a long piece of string and there was a yellow circle in the middle of the disc. "…this." he finished, presenting the object to the group with pride. Everyone moved in to examine the item, but Ianto frowned and leaned back.

"But that's…" he began, squinting in confusion. "I've heard of them." he clarified. "At Torchwood One, in London, after the Battle of Canary Wharf. People were talking about those things."

"You worked for Torchwood One?" the Doctor asked coldly.

"Well, yeah. But I had nothing to do with the Cybermen. Or the Daleks." Ianto insisted. The Doctor stared at him for a second, then turned back to the object.

"Although _I _can use the chair to get back telepathically, Rose isn't linked to it. Now that we've got enough power for me to become an actual being in her universe, I'll give her this, and by making physical and telepathical contact, wherever the gap in the void that I'm getting through happens to be, Rose will be able to use, to come back with me."

"And, sorry, what's this void thing?" Owen asked, examining the metal button.

"Well, the two universes, this one and Rose's, are separated by the void. It's nothing; there's nothing out there. Some people call it hell. And at Torchwood One, they were opening the void; allowing the Cybermen to pass through from the parallel world, and allowing the Daleks to appear out of the void. When the chair is in use, a sort of, hole is created, in the void. It's only temporary, and it's so small that it doesn't have an affect on time itself, but if I can form a telepathic link with both the chair and with Rose, she can get back here when I transport back."

"And since when are you telepathic?" Owen asked, doubting the theory.

"Since always." the Doctor replied shortly.

"And we've definitely got enough power for you to become a physical being there?" Gwen asked, making sure the plan would work. The Doctor and Toshiko nodded.

"Definitely." Toshiko confirmed. "As long as we can link it to the chair, the power can be used however we need to."

Seeing that there were no more questions, Jack stood up at the end of the table. "Right, well then I think that's pretty much it." he informed the group. "I think we should all get a good night's sleep, ready for tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day, and I think you two are especially wiped out after all that work." he inclined his head towards Toshiko and the Doctor; although Toshiko looked pretty much exhausted, the Doctor was still smiling as madly as he had done all day.

As everyone slid their chairs under the table and filed out of the room, the Doctor waited until it was almost empty and touched Toshiko's arm gently, and she turned to look at him.

"Thank you." he said simply, and Toshiko's smiled happily. The Doctor's face broke into a grateful smile in return, and Toshiko felt that, with that one smile, each hour of sleep lost was completely worth it. When he walked out of the office last, Martha was waiting for him outside the door.

"Doctor, I've been thinking," she began, and the Doctor frowned. "I'm going home." The Doctor raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Right…" he said, and she swallowed.

"When you've got Rose back, I mean. I'll help you, but I don't think I should hang around afterwards, and this was just supposed to be one trip and then home anyway, so I guess I'd be going home afterwards anyway, but I just -"

"Martha." the Doctor interrupted. "It's fine. I understand. And thank you; for everything." He pulled Martha into a hug, and she tried to be happy for him, promising herself that this wasn't the end.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor checked his watch for the fifth time that minute and sighed in frustration. He could be out there right now, getting back Rose, but oh no, these stupid humans needed _more_ sleep. He sighed in annoyance and checked his watch yet again. It read 5:52 am. Jack said that they would meet at the hub at seven. The Doctor frowned. There was no way he'd be able to lie there doing nothing for another hour. Sighing for one last time, he pushed himself up off the bed and walked out the door quietly.

Careful not to wake Martha, he crept past her bedroom silently and only breathed when he was sure she could no longer hear him. He climbed the staircase leisurely up one floor and stopped at a dimly lit hallway holding two doors. He breathed out slowly and walked towards the door at the far end of the corridor. He past the first room and smiled in recognition of his old bedroom, but did not alter his path, and carried on to the second door. A sign hung from the handle, like his own bedroom door did, downstairs, except this door was pink, and the sign read "Rose". Pushing the door ajar slightly, he walked in as softly as a mouse, not wanting to disturb the contents of the room. Nothing had changed since Rose was last in the room; when he had lost her, he had sworn never to change it, and as a result, this corridor had become unused and abandoned.

He pushed the door closed behind him and walked over to her bed gently, avoiding the clothes that were scattered over the floor messily. He inched around the room with care, examining all the little things around the place that made it Rose's: the messy-yet-cosy feel, and how everything appeared to be placed precisely in the right place, though it still managed to look like a bomb had just gone off. A Polaroid picture, covered in fingerprints and smudges where it had been handled so often, was lying on her desk, of the Doctor and Rose, smiling happily together.

"I'm coming to get you, my beloved Rose."

What seemed like moments later, he heard his name being called out distantly. His head snapped around immediately, and he headed out the door to the direction of the voice. He shut the door carefully and ran down the hall and staircase urgently. Jack and Martha were in the console room, and both their heads turned as the Doctor entered the room beaming.

"What time is it?" he asked, almost breathlessly.

"7:15." Jack replied, and the Doctor smiled. "Everyone's already here, we thought you'd gotten lost." he added, grinning, but the Doctor wasn't listening. He bounded over to the pair and led them outside joyfully. Grinning insanely, he rushed over to the Torchwood team, who had congregated outside the TARDIS. His dazed expression set off everyone smiling, except Owen, it seemed, who didn't seem to care much about the project.

"Here we go." Jack said simply, but the effect it caused was tremendous. The entire room seemed to light up with anticipation, and after a second of silence, the Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS and allowed everyone through. He went in last, after a good luck smile from Martha, and taking her hand, he ran around to the front of the group, leading them up the stairs to the room. As the Torchwood team ascended the stairs for the second time, there was once again silence, penetrated only by the TARDIS' excited vibrations rattling throughout the machine with joy that only the Doctor seemed able of sharing.

The Doctor took a deep breath as he pushed down the handle of the door and threw it open. His energetic air seemed to have vanished suddenly, leaving him feeling nervous and uneasy. Switching on the almost useless light, everyone gathered around the chair in a semi-circle. The light, though dim, seemed to give off a warm, comforting glow, and seemed to hover in just the right place to cause a dull spotlight to fall on the chair.

"I guess this is it." the Doctor whispered, almost inaudibly. "Oh, that," He pointed out the small monitor to the side of the chair. "Is a heart monitor. The plugs will track me even once I've left the chair, and so this will still show my vitals, just in case."

"But surely, once you travel to the other universe, you won't be connected anymore?" Torchiko frowned.

The Doctor shook his head. "It's... complicated." he said impatiently. "Don't worry, it'l be fine." Gwen inched forwards and held out her hand to the Doctor.

"This… this is for you." she said slowly, holding out a small earpiece. "I thought you should have a way to communicate with us, and Owen suggested one of these." the Doctor saw that she was holding out a mobile phone earpiece. "We asked Toshiko to look it up, and she said she might be able to make it work, so we got Ianto to buy one off the internet. Don't know if it'll work, but…" she faded off, placing the earpiece in the Doctor's hand. He examined it under the dim light, and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you." he said, to Gwen, Owen, Ianto and Toshiko. "How does it work?" he added softly.

"It's been manipulated to make it compatible with the chair." Toshiko informed him, as she walked over to the side of the chair and picked up a small radio microphone attached to the arm rest.

"This is for us to talk to you with, and that earpiece means that you can, effectively, channel your speech through the void to reach us, by pressing on the earpiece gently whilst talking - It's touch sensitive. Martha connected it to the chair for us." she added at the Doctor's slightly quizzical look.

"This… this is brilliant. Thank you." the Doctor breathed steadily, preparing himself as he lowered himself into the chair. Martha walked to his side immediately, attaching wires to his head, chest and hands, as the Torchwood group watched in silence.

"Ready?" she asked, when all the wires were attached. The Doctor inserted the earpiece into his ear and smiled reassuringly. "Ready." he replied simply.

Toshiko rushed to the side of the machine behind the chair and fiddled with the wires for a few seconds. She reappeared holding the energy capsule, and smiled at the Doctor.

"Ready." she added, and Gwen took her place by the radio.

"Ready." She repeated the words. Ianto crossed his fingers discreetly, and Martha backed away from the machine slowly.

"Oh!" the Doctor said suddenly, and reached inside his pocket and pulled out a pair of 3D Glasses. "You'll need these." he held them out to Martha, who frowned. "Put them on." he explained. "If you see anything strange, like little multicoloured dots appearing around the chair, I want you to pull me back. That's void… stuff, background radiation, and it means something's gone wrong. No exceptions; even if I've just said I've found her, you need to pull me back."

"And… how do we do that?" Owen asked.

"This lever." the Doctor pointed to a red lever on the arm rest of the chair. "Martha knows what to do." Martha nodded.

"Right." the Doctor said firmly. "I'm ready."

"Ready." Toshiko and Gwen repeated.

"Ready." Martha added, slipping the 3D Glasses on.

"Then let's go." the Doctor ordered, and, holding her breath, Toshiko pulled down the lever on the capsule controls.

"Full power activated." she informed the group.

"Wish me luck." the Doctor told everyone, and with that, he closed his eyes, and faded away into nothing, with the cables dropping slowly to the ground.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor groaned as he rolled over onto his side, getting a mouthful of grit as he did so. He reached out to the side of a bin and his hand made contact. He grinned; he wasn't an image! Pushing himself up onto his feet with force, he clutched his head in his hands as pain seared through his mind. He looked around agitatedly at his surroundings and found that he was in the middle of a large estate, and with a quick, longing glance up at the sky, he saw that it was filled with zeppelins. The sun was in the sky, and it looked about midday.

All around him, he could see flats and blocks of offices and apartments, and he prayed that he was in London. He had imagined the Powell Estate, as he didn't know where else to begin is search, and from what he could see, that was where he had ended up. Just to be sure, however, he ignored the stabbing pain in his mind and blundered over to a woman who had just walked round the corner.

"Excuse me!" he stepped in front of the lady and she stopped abruptly. "Is this the Powell Estate?" The lady looked surprised, and nodded slowly.

"You alright?" she asked, grabbing his arm, since he looked as if he was about to collapse.

"Yeah, yeah, just a migraine. It'll pass." the Doctor insisted. "Thanks. Look, I know this is going to sound weird, but could you tell me the date?"

The lady frowned, but the Doctor needed to be sure, as he had once turned up ten years before he and Rose were due to appear there for the first time.

"It's the twentieth of January." she replied cautiously. "You sure you're alright?"

The Doctor nodded quickly, the effects of the migraine wearing off slightly. "What year?"

The woman laughed. "One hell of a night, was it? 2008, love!" she smiled, and walked off past the Doctor, now that he was obviously fine.

The Doctor rubbed his forehead irately and walked quickly towards the woman, touching her arm gently.

"Can you tell me where I am?" he asked her urgently.

"You're on the Powell Estate." she stated slowly, as if talking to a child.

She paused as he let out a sigh of relief, then continued to walk past him.

"Think…" the Doctor told himself quietly. "Where would Rose be?"

He remembered that she worked for Torchwood. She said…

'_The Torchwood on this planet's open for business. Think I know a thing or two about aliens.'_

Torchwood One. Set up in London. The Torchwood Tower at Canary Wharf.

"Taxi!" he called to a passing taxi driver, who ignored him. Whistling loudly, he ran over to the road, and the taxi pulled over a few metres down the curb. The doctor ran up to it and jumped in, yelling out "Canary Wharf!" as he fiddled around in his pockets for any kinds of money.

"Please be there, please be there…" he pleaded to himself. He pulled out a fistful of banknotes from his inside pocket and sighed with relief. Glancing around agitatedly, he looked around for signs of the Torchwood Tower.

The journey seemed to be taking an age, with the Doctor complaining quietly about how much easier things were with the TARDIS. Suddenly a voice sounded in his ear and he almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hello? Doctor, can you hear me?" came Martha's loud but muffled voice through the earpiece.

"Ow, yeah, do you mind not yelling though?" he muttered, so the taxi driver wouldn't hear, as he reached up and touched the earpiece softly. Thankfully, he made no response, but the Doctor turned away, just to be sure.

"I ended up at the Powell Estate, but she wouldn't be living there on this planet. I'm on my way to Torchwood One, in London."

"But… wasn't that destroyed?" Martha asked over the background noise.

"No. On our Earth, it was shut down, but here, it's still running. She said she worked here, last time I spoke to her."

"Wait, what? I thought you'd never found her before?"

"I haven't. But, before I met you, there was one tiny little gap in the void, and I used that to speak to her. It closed up after two minutes though."

"Oh." Martha said simply, registering this information. "Okay, well, everything seems fine here; keep us updated if anything happens down your end."

"Okay." the Doctor replied firmly, and glanced outside to check where he was.

When he finally arrived at the Torchwood Tower, the Doctor thrust the money into the driver's hands and jumped out, not caring if it was too much or too little. The driver obviously thought it was fine, as he drove off almost immediately, and left the Doctor standing on the curb in front of the Tower.

"I'm here." he said quietly, touching the earpiece, but no one replied, and the Doctor made his way up to the tower, praying and pleading to anyone above that Rose would be there.

- - - - - - -

The room was in silence. Toshiko was checking on the energy capsule, occasionally reporting that they had enough energy, and Gwen and Martha had switched stations, with Gwen monitoring the levels of "void stuff" and Martha holding the radio speaker up to her face, ready for any communication from the Doctor. Owen was slumped up against a wall, with Ianto sat on the floor behind him, and Jack was leaning against another wall, staring at the ceiling.

"Jack?" Owen suddenly asked, making Ianto jump slightly. "How come those three get to do everything?"

The three girls turned to face him simultaneously.

"Because no one else here knows how to rewire or reboot an energy capsule in moments of crisis." Toshiko answered first.

"And because I know how to work the chair and what the Doctor will be talking about." added Martha.

"And because… well, just because." Gwen added lamely, and Owen smirked.

"Fine." Owen put his hands up defeatedly, and there was a moment of silence, before,

"How long is this going to take though?" Owen asked, and there were sighs and groans throughout the room.

"We don't know. If you're going to moan the entire time -" Martha began.

"Alright! I'll shut it." Owen interrupted, and slid down the wall to sit on the floor with Ianto.

- - - - - - -

Looking around edgily, the Doctor zapped the door with the sonic screwdriver and crept in secretly. Glancing around for any security, he spotted one guard standing in front of the only door, a little way down the corridor. He started walking towards the armed man, his mind working furiously, and as he reached the guard, he held out his psychic paper confidently and said "Health and safety, mind if I go on through?"

The man stared at the paper for a few seconds with no expression, then moved aside to let the Doctor through. As he stepped forward, the man grabbed his arm and pushed him up against a wall.

"Nice try." he smirked, holding the Doctor up against the wall. "All Torchwood staff have psychic training, basic level at least."

The Doctor closed his eyes, silently cursing himself for being so naïve. The guard was talking on his radio to the higher authorities, informing them about the intruder. He got a reply, and led the Doctor down the corridor and round the corner, with his gun pointing at his back.

The Doctor was led through many corridors and staircases, almost all of which were empty, until the two reached a large metal door with a fingerprint sensor by the side.

He reached up and pressed his finger against the sensor, and the door slid open with a low grinding noise.

A tall, broad shouldered man stood behind a desk a few metres from the door, also carrying a gun. He looked up with interest as the two people walked in, and the guard released the Doctor's arm, pushing him forwards with the gun. He walked forwards slowly with no expression on his face, and the man walked round the desk to speak to him.

"So. Psychic paper?" he asked, clearly amused. "Mind if I ask your name?"

"The Doctor." the Doctor replied, still with no expression. The man's face changed completely, his brow furrowed into a frown and his shoulders dropped. He said no more, but turned and walked away from the Doctor to a small office with glass walls, in the corner of the room. The inside of the office was obscured by plants and filing cabinets, but the Doctor could make out a figure walking around the desk. The man knocked on the door once, and it was opened by the unknown figure inside. Quiet words were exchanged, and the figure retreated into the room. A moment later, the door opened and the figure began walking towards the Doctor quickly. The Doctor smiled at instant recognition of the man, who stopped metres before him to ensure he was seeing the truth.

"Doctor?" he asked quietly, and the Doctor nodded.

"Pete." he acknowledged, and the man's face broke into a smile.

"Nice to see you again." the Doctor moved forward to shake Pete's hand, and Pete laughed disbelievingly.

"But - you said…" he said as he took the Doctor's hand. "You said there was no way back."

The Doctor hung his head. "Yeah. But I found one! A way back, I mean." He smiled, but Pete didn't reciprocate it.

"You broke her heart." he said simply, and the Doctor felt tears form in his eyes.

"Speaking of whom…" he began softly, prompting Pete.

"I've just called her up. She doesn't know you're here, I just said I needed her for something. She should be a few minutes, mind."

"You're still with Jackie?" the Doctor asked after a pause.

"Yep." he replied, smiling slightly now.

"I heard about the baby." the Doctor was now smiling too, and Pete replied with a nod and a grin.

The two men waited quietly for a second before the door at the very end of the room burst open and Jackie walked through.

"Pete?" she called, oblivious to the Doctor standing in front of the man. "Pete? You ready to go?" She rushed over to Pete, still not noticing the Doctor, until Pete chuckled and inclined his head towards him. Jackie turned her head, then did a double-take as she recognised the man.

"You!" she cried, walking over to the Doctor, who flinched as Jackie's hand raised into the air. Jackie didn't slap him, for which the Doctor was thankful, but instead froze on the spot before raising her hands over her mouth in shock. "But… it's you!" she repeated, lowering her hands, and the Doctor smiled.

"Yes it is." he replied with mild amusement, and with no warning, Jackie pulled him into an unsuspected hug, causing him to almost topple over at the sheer surprise of the event. When the Doctor was finally released, Jackie took a step back to regain her composure, before she inevitably lifted her hand and slapped the Doctor's cheek, frowning.

"Five and a half hours, she waited on that beach!" she began to rant, her outburst of joy being cast aside. "Five and a half hours, crying, and saying you'd come back for her!" The Doctor hung his head and Jackie stopped speaking immediately, though the Doctor kept facing the floor, needing a moment to recover. Her reason for silencing became clear to everyone but the Doctor. The doors had swung open again. And a second figure had entered the room.

* * *

Who is it?! Actually, if you don't know that already, you must have skipped about 5 chapters. Review please! I'm halfway through writing chapter 7, so it should be up sometime this week or next weekend. (And it actually _is _the last chapter this time.) Sorry that the actual meeting wasn't in this chapter, but it's coming up.


	7. The Final Goodbye

Take a look at the scrollbar. Now do you see why I made it two chapters? =P

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Final Goodbye**

"Well?" came a strong female voice, and the Doctor felt his heart speed up to twice its normal rate. Pete turned quickly, and the Doctor's eyes automatically moved up to the voice. "What's this task you've got for me?" she asked, and the voice's owner came into view. The woman was carrying a large pile of folders and papers, and she continued talking, not noticing the occupants of the room. "Not anymore paperwork, is it? 'Cause I'm still working on the last…" she trailed off as she saw the Doctor, and the papers and files fell from he hands into a crumpled mess on the shiny metal floor.

Pete and Jackie backed out of view as the Doctor and Rose finally made eye contact, and the guards were ushered out of the room by Jackie and Pete. Rose didn't move, but the Doctor edged forwards slowly, trying to read her emotions from her expressionless face. He could feel her doing the same; the thousands of questions running through her mind were also running through his, but her mind was overwhelmed, and she suddenly whimpered and held her hands up to her face. She backed away slightly, and the Doctor stopped, still. A tear dripped soundlessly from her eye, and the Doctor moved forward one step.

"You came back." Rose whispered, her voice carrying out through the room. No one spoke for a moment.

Then, as if reading each other's minds, the two bounded forwards into each others arms, locked in a warm embrace, relieved at finally being together. Minutes passed, and the two figures clung onto each other helplessly, tears dripping unstoppably down their cheeks. When they finally broke apart, it was just for a second, before Rose pulled the Doctor back towards her body in a second hug, not knowing how else to show her delight at seeing him again. They once again separated reluctantly, their hands becoming linked affectionately.

"I'm sorry." the Doctor whispered, his face and Rose's inches apart. "I'm so sorry."

Tears of joy ran down Rose's face as she smiled.

"I - I don't understand, how -" she began, but the Doctor shook his head, not wanting to waste the moment with unnecessary words, just longing to hold Rose in his arms, forever.

"Don't speak. I'll explain later." He smiled, and she laughed with excitement.

"I think I'm dreaming." she said dazedly, but the Doctor just smiled even more, and pulled Rose's body towards his own as they embraced each other deliriously.

- - - - - -

"Shall I check up on him?" Martha suggested, the room having fallen silent once more.

"No." Jack said firmly. "Give him time."

"Heart rate's fine." Toshiko offered.

"No void stuff." Gwen added, and there was silence once more.

"I guess we just have to wait then." Martha sighed, twisting the cord of the radio around her finger jadedly.

- - - - - - -

Rose clung on to the Doctor's neck, her face buried in his coat, and the two stood comfortably, before the door from which Rose had entered opened for a third time, and they parted regretfully.

"Hey, Rose?" came a familiar male voice. "I thought you were coming right…" his voice trailed off as he saw the Doctor, and he added "…back." to the end of the statement as he walked over to the pair.

"Is he for real?" Mickey asked Rose, not addressing the Doctor. Her face broke into a grin as she nodded, and hearing Mickey's voice, the doors behind the Doctor also opened to reveal Jackie and Pete walking into the room. Rose walked to the Doctor's side and he wrapped his arm around her waist as the Tylers and Mickey gathered round to hear the Doctor's story.

"Okay," he began, sighing. "Well, I guess you're all wondering what's going on, so I suppose I should start at the beginning." he was about to begin when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, wait a minute!" he released Rose and pressed his earpiece gently.

"Hello?" he called, and Rose exchanged glances with Jackie, Pete and Mickey. "Martha? Gwen? Anyone there?" no one answered, so he turned back to the room, putting his arm back around Rose.

"Sorry, they must be busy." he apologised. "So -"

"Who's Martha? And Gwen?" Rose asked loudly, and the Doctor swallowed.

"Ah, well…you see, Martha is a girl - woman, I mean - who I've been… travelling with for a while." he admitted, and Rose's face fell slightly. She didn't seem angry though, so the Doctor continued. "I mean, we've only been together for - well, not together, just travelling together, I mean - for a bit, and she's just helping, a little, with, you know, this. And Gwen's just -"

"Doctor." Rose interrupted with a smile, her silent jubilation not swayed by this information, wrapping her hand around his waist as he had done to her. "It's fine. I understand."

"Really?" the Doctor breathed out and smiled, as did Rose, who nodded and inclined for him to continue.

"Right, okay. So, the beginning." he started again. "Well, it basically started when, uh, Martha, found this book." he looked to Rose but her face showed no reaction. "And, well, she knew a bit about you, Rose, and that it was all to do with a parallel universe, and in this book, was the blueprint of a teleport chair that could transport people across the universe. So, we tried it out, only it wouldn't work properly; I only came through as an image, and it kept pulling me back and malfunctioning. Then we went to find Jack, and his Torchwood team helped us figure it out."

"Jack?" Rose asked with disbelief. "What d'you mean, Jack? Jack's... y'know... dead."

"It seems not." the Doctor said airily, not wishing to delve into that particular subject just yet.

Jackie took the Doctor's pause as an opportunity to ask questions. "How do you mean, Torchwood? I thought the Torchwood in your world shut down?"

The Doctor nodded. "That was Torchwood One; Jack's team is Torchwood Two, and it's set in Cardiff."

"Cardiff?" Mickey asked. "What the hell are they doing in -"

"Back to the point." Rose interrupted, and the Doctor smiled.

"Yeah, well," he continued. "Torchwood Two helped Martha and I research this chair invention, and one of them - Toshiko - figured out that we needed more power, so that I could come through the void properly. She found this UNIT file about a power capsule, and we started to make it." He paused again, not bothering to explain the details of the power capsule, and Rose took this unusual behaviour as a sign of how excited he was. "We made the capsule, and I used the chair again, and… well, here I am!" He lifted his free hand into the air and lowered it again to show that the account had finished, and hugged Rose closer to his side with his other hand.

"So, sorry, how does this chair thing work?" Pete asked the Doctor.

"It's like a teleport. It creates a temporary hole in the void, and it allows me to pass through; but it's so small that no damage is caused. And we've got just enough power for…" he rummaged around in his pockets with his free hand, and pulled out the metal disc transporter. "this to work."

Rose smiled in recognition of the item, but Jackie's face fell.

"It'll work?" Rose asked excitedly, taking the disc with her free hand, and Jackie frowned.

"You're… going with him?" she asked Rose quietly, and she looked to her mother sadly.

"I - I've got to go. You know what's out there, mum, and you know the Doctor." She didn't let go of the Doctor's waist, and turned to look at him. "Can we come back? If we go back to the other universe, could we come back later?" she asked, and his smile dropped.

"We - we can try, but I don't think so." he said, but without hope. "It's just…it needs so much power. I don't think it would be possible." He looked into her eyes and saw the terrible choice she had to make.

"I'm sorry."

- - - - - - -

"You know, it's weird that we haven't heard from him since he got there." Ianto spoke suddenly, and the atmosphere of the room changed from the uncomfortable silence to a worried quietness.

"Doctor?" Martha whispered into the radio, but there was no response. "Doctor? Can you hear me?" she asked again, louder this time.

"No answer. It's been hours." she reported back to the group, and Jack sighed.

"Maybe he's just… busy." he suggested, but he didn't look hopeful.

"Is there a way of going after him?" Gwen asked, but Martha shook her head. "Not enough power. And even if there was, we've got no way of finding him if the earpiece has stopped working."

Toshiko stood up slowly and walked round to the back of the chair, checking on the wires and cables connecting the different elements.

"The power's draining fast. That's probably why the earpiece connection has cut off. No signal. We need to hurry." she informed the group.

"Well, pity we've got no way of telling him that." Owen said sarcastically and unhelpfully, and there was silence once more in the dark, dusty room.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor was sat on a large sofa at the Tylers' house, watching Simone Tyler playing with her toys excitedly, pushing each of them simultaneously into the Doctor's hands. _'She looks just like a miniature Rose.'_ he thought, smiling cheekily at the thought. Simone gurgled back, and Jackie smiled slightly from her youngest daughter's side.

Pete came through the door from the kitchen and handed Jackie a cup of tea, then sat down on the other side of Simone, and picked up one of her toys from the floor.

"The thing is, Doctor," Jackie began, and the Doctor looked up from Simone's smiling face. "Last time she travelled with you, it wasn't exactly… safe." The Doctor looked into Jackie's eyes sincerely.

"It's her choice." he said honestly.

"So you agree then?" she confronted him. "It's not safe?"

The Doctor breathed out slowly. "No. It's not safe. But I'll take care of her, Jackie." Jackie smiled weakly; that was all she needed to hear from him.

Rose walked through the door slowly, and the Doctor looked up to meet her eyes. She dropped a large bag on the floor and walked over to Simone.

Jackie's eyes filled with regretted tears, and she shook her head in agitation.

"Don't go." she pleaded, though she knew it would be no use. "Please Rose."

Rose didn't look at her mother. She rubbed her little sister's cheek and kissed her forehead firmly, all her love for her new relation seeping through the connection.

She stood up, strongly sniffing the salty water away from her eyes. Pete took her hand and pulled her towards him, hugging her closely. It had been his one chance to give Rose her father back, and she was already leaving. He stroked her hair in a loving, fatherly way, and gently guided her towards her mother. Jackie stood up but didn't move further. Rose pulled her mother into a hug and let a single tear roll down her cheek. It lingered there before dropping onto Jackie's shoulder. When released, Jackie wiped her eyes and smiled at Rose.

"Okay." She forgave Rose without needing an apology.

"It's fine, mum." Rose insisted, and the Doctor didn't speak, giving the two a moment to be together, for what would be the last time. "The Doctor'll take care of me. You know he will." Jackie nodded, and smiled again before pulling Rose into a second hug.

"I love you." she spoke into her daughter's shoulders, and Rose replied by pulling away.

"And you know I love you. Always." she said, and turned to Pete.

"You're not my real dad." she said firmly, and he smiled apologetically. "But I still love you like one. Thanks."

He didn't reply, but hugged her affectionately. She bent down to Simone's level and smiled. "Sorry I won't be around to see you grow up." she whispered to the child, who ignored her, pushing her doll in Rose's face. She took it gingerly. "Don't forget me. I'm your older sister. And I love you - very much." She laid the doll back on the coffee table and stood up, facing the Doctor. Pete walked over to Jackie and put one arm around her, and she buried her face in his should for a moment.

"I'll never forget you all." Rose said suddenly, turning back to her family. "And make sure Simmy knows the truth about me. She deserves it. Where's Mickey?" she added, and Pete shrugged.

"Think he went home." he said quietly, and Rose nodded understandingly.

The Doctor walked out of the living room after Rose and followed her out of the house, picking up her heavy bag as he went. Jackie picked up Simone and led Pete outside with them, standing outside the door as Rose and the Doctor walked up the pathway onto the pavement outside the front garden.

"Wait!" Mickey called from a distance, running up the road to reach Rose and the Doctor. Rose smiled, relieved, and walked a few steps towards the approaching figure. When he reached Rose, he embraced her caringly, holding back the imminent salty tears in his eyes. The Doctor looked away awkwardly. When they broke apart, Mickey handed her something, placing it in her hand and closing her fingers around it. He didn't release her hand, but held onto it tightly, forcing her fingers still.

"This is from me. Don't forget about us." He released her hand and didn't move, but she didn't open her fingers. She could feel cool, smooth metal under her fingers, and a long, delicate chain. She unfurled her fingers to see a large, golden locket on a long gold chain. She stroked the smooth gold with one finger and snapped open the locket. Inside the enchanting pendant was a picture of herself, Mickey, Pete, and a pregnant Jackie.

"I couldn't find one with Simone in." Mickey said sheepishly, but Rose clasped the necklace firmly in her hand and put her arm around his neck, pulling him into another hug.

"It's wonderful." she said as they let go of one another. "I love it, thanks."

Mickey shrugged, embarrassed. "Then I guess this is it."

Rose nodded, breathing deeply. "I love you." she told him caringly, and he scoffed, but she persisted. "I do."

"An' I love you." he said after a pause, then he turned away, and went to stand with her family. Rose turned back to the Doctor with tears in her eyes.

"You know that if there was a way -" he began, but she shook her head.

"I know." she insisted. "I just can't believe I'm never going to see them again." she rubbed her forehead with the hand holding the necklace and breathed back the tears, casting a glance to her family and Mickey, stood at the door of the house.

"Just you and me, then." the Doctor smiled, and Rose laughed.

"Yeah. You and me. Together at last." she agreed, and the Doctor handed her the large grey button that was to take her away from her family for the last time.

- - - - - - -

"Okay, now I'm getting worried." Jack admitted.

"It's been… hours. Many, many, many hours." Ianto sighed, bored of the waiting in the dark.

"Trust him." Martha forced herself to remain hopeful.

"Face it. Something's happened." Owen said pessimistically.

"We don't know that." Gwen replied quickly, also refusing to give up hope.

"Oh, why are girls always like this?" Owen groaned with frustration.

"Like what? Like, we care about other people?" Gwen shot back, glad that Owen couldn't see her truthfully worried face in the darkness.

"No, like you won't see reality."

"Well, excuse us for trying to help."

"But you're not helping!"

"I'm doing more than you!"

"Quiet!" Jack intervened loudly. "No one is helping by shouting." Gwen turned back to looking at the chair, and instantly shrunk back.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed.

"What now?" Owen asked agitatedly.

"It - it's that stuff." She stood up unsurely, and Martha and Toshiko followed suit.

"I can see it. It's like, multicoloured dots, like the Doctor said. It's like they're leaking out of the chair. Like they're flooding the place." Gwen took off the glasses and thrust them into Martha's hand. "Look." she urged her, and Martha slipped the glasses on delicately, before ripping them off again almost instantly. Everyone had slowly backed away to the door.

"It's not… dangerous. Is it?" Ianto asked nervously. Martha's eyes widened.

"No… I don't think so, anyway." she replied dubiously.

"Oh, great. That's reassuring." Owen sighed, opening the door, and everyone winced at the sudden change in lighting.

"Wait, he said it was void stuff, right?" Toshiko suddenly spoke up, and Martha nodded. "Well, didn't he also say that the void was nothing? As in, just black matter? So it can't be harmful." she shrugged, and Owen closed the door, but nobody moved towards the chair.

"Still," Gwen muttered. "Just to be on the safe side…" she sat down at the back of the room next to Ianto, and Martha and Toshiko sat near them cautiously.

There was a pause, and then Martha spoke suddenly.

"He said to call him back." she realised. "He said if there was any sign of void stuff, we had to bring him back."

"But… what if he's found her? What if they're on their way back now?" Ianto asked nervously.

Toshiko stood up confidently. "If I had some electrical devices up here, I could link them with the earpiece and radio and transfer the power across, and we could find out what's going on." she suggested, and Ianto and Owen stood up.

"Yeah, okay. We'll go." Ianto offered, and began to walk out of the door with Owen by his side.

Toshiko ran to the door, calling after them as they ran out of the room. "Get mobiles, rift manipulators, anything that uses power and signal!"

Martha heard Owen yell back "Got it!" from down the corridor, and she brought her knees up to her chest, hoping to the heavens that the Doctor was okay.

- - - - - - - -

Rose reached up, waving her hair over her shoulders, and closed the golden clasps of the chain around her neck. She let the locket fall to her chest and hide underneath her jacket, close to her heart like the people inside it. The Doctor turned around to face her and smiled encouragingly, and she reciprocated it nervously.

"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded slowly.

As he put the chain of the button disc around her neck, she looked up, smiling but with tears in her eyes. When he released the button, it fell to her chest and knocked against her pendant, and her smile dropped suddenly. She gasped and held her hands over her mouth with distress. She looked up at the Doctor, and all the colour drained from her face.

"I can't do this." she whispered softly with wide eyes, shocked at her own behaviour, stepping back, and the Doctor felt his hearts sink.

"Sorry?" he asked her in shock.

"I'm sorry." she sobbed. "But they're… my family. You left me, and they were left to pick up the pieces. I can't just desert them after putting them through that. I - I can't leave them again. And never come back." She was crying now, and the Doctor's eyes were wide-open, his hearts telling him to protest but his mind not letting him. Sensing that something was wrong, Jackie approached her daughter quickly, pulling her into a comforting embrace.

"It's okay. Rose, it's fine." Jackie calmed her, speaking soothingly into her neck. The Doctor stood, frozen to the spot, and after a moment of Jackie's relaxing shushes, Rose broke away to look at the Doctor. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jackie stepped in front of her.

"No." she said quietly, before Rose could speak. "I know what you're going to say, and I won't let you." She shook her head frantically, tears in her eyes. "Because as much as I want you to stay, Rose, you don't belong here any more. You belong with the Doctor. You know I'm right." It pained her to say it, but she knew that she had to, and so, with those final words, Jackie walked away for the final time, leaving her daughter's future in the hands of the Doctor. Rose brushed away her tears, knowing her mother was right. This was what she wanted.

"Right then." the Doctor said, looking deep into Rose's eyes. "Ready?" he asked her again, and this time, she smiled, took one last look at the people she loved outside the house, and nodded firmly to the Doctor.

"Definitely."

- - - - - - -

Toshiko bit her lip with frustration as she connected wire after wire to the power capsule and the chair.

"Done." she said at last, and Owen sighed with relief.

"Yay." Owen said unenthusiastically, and Jack shot him a warning glance.

"Right." Toshiko said, ignoring Owen as she stood up next to Gwen and Martha. "Martha? Use the radio."

With a deep intake of breath, Martha braced herself and switched on the button on the microphone.

"Doctor? Are you there?" she asked hopefully, and waited patiently for a response.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor started as Martha's voice erupted into his ear with a crackle.

"Martha?" he asked, and Rose frowned.

"Uh, no. Rose." she told him, hurt, but he shook his head agitatedly.

"No. Martha, in my earpiece." he explained, and removed the earpiece from his ear, zapping it with his sonic screwdriver for a few seconds.

He held it out in the palm of his hand and pressed down on it gently.

"Martha?" he asked unsurely. "Hello?"

"Doctor? I can hear you!" The transmission was terrible, but it was definitely Martha's voice coming through the earpiece.

"Martha, hello! Haven't spoken to you in… well, hours. Oh, and meet Rose, say hello Rose, this is Rose! Martha, say hello to Rose!" the Doctor stammered nervously, hoping the two would get along.

"Um, hello?" Martha said unsurely, though the voice was hard to make out amongst the crackly diffusion.

"Hi." Rose said calmly, which the Doctor thanked her for.

"Wow. So, you're Rose." came Martha's slightly distant voice.

"Listen Martha, I lost contact with you a while back." the Doctor intervened, before anything could happen.

"Yeah, the power was fading a bit. But we've fixed it now… oh, wait, no we haven't. Tosh says it's not fixed, it's just repaired. Well, a bit."

The Doctor was finding it almost impossible to hear Martha.

"I think we're breaking up. I can't hear you very well." he informed her.

"Yeah, me neither. Hold on." There was a pause, and after a second, the background noise had disappeared.

"Better?" Martha asked, her voice sounding clearly in the quiet of the street. Rose was staring with wide eyes at the earpiece, but neither Jackie, Pete or Mickey seemed to have noticed what was going on.

"Listen, Doctor, you've got to get back." Martha said, her voice suddenly serious. "There's that stuff - void stuff - coming out of the chair. And we're losing power. That's why we lost the signal of the earpiece earlier. Doctor, I think the gap in the void's closing up. You have to hurry!"

"What does she mean?" Rose asked concernedly.

"I'll explain later." the Doctor shook his head. He replaced the earpiece into his ear and seized Rose's arms.

"Rose, listen to me." he urged her. "We have to go. Now. And if we do, we can never come back. Do you understand that? Never." He knew he had to give her the choice but secretly wished he hadn't. He knew what would be running through her mind, the possibilities, the questions, and he begged her silently to choose the 'right' answer.

"I know, Doctor." Rose insisted. "I've made my decision. And I've said my goodbyes."

The Doctor gave her a second, but she didn't reconsider.

"We're coming." he told Martha, his eyes still on Rose's.

"I need to form a telepathic link." he told Rose, putting his hands up to her temple. "You're gonna have to open your mind. Don't worry, it won't hurt." She allowed him in, fully opening her thoughts to him. He resisted the urge to delve into her thoughts and just opened the link, then pulled his hands away and found the yellow button hanging from her neck.

"This is it."

She smiled encouragingly, and with just one moment of hesitation, the Doctor pressed the button down, closed his eyes, and brought himself back to his Earth with Rose, leaving her family and Mickey to walk into the house together, leaving her behind.

The two disappeared for a second, but as Jackie carried Simone inside after Pete and Mickey entered the house, there was a loud crackling noise and the Doctor and Rose reappeared, out of breath and confused.

"What?" the Doctor exclaimed breathlessly. "But…"

"What happened?" Rose asked, panting, but the Doctor had no answer.

"Martha?" he asked, pressing his finger to the earpiece while Rose caught her breath.

The reply was once again unclear, but the Doctor could just make out Martha's voice.

"What happened? You kind of appeared, but just for a second, then you faded away. And Rose was there. Well, I guess it was her."

"Martha, I can't hear you!" he told her.

"Me neither; not well." Martha replied. "But what happened?"

"I don't know. I don't think there's enough power. That, or the gap's not big enough."

"We're working on it." came Martha's insisting voice, but the Doctor shook his head, frustrated.

"No, it won't work." He was ready to give up, to admit defeat. "How are the void stuff levels?"

"I can't tell what you're saying!" Martha's voice came through, impatient and loud, but heavily distorted. "I don't know if you can hear me, but we're getting more power."

"Martha!" the Doctor tried again, but the signal had once again died.

"Lost her." he told Rose, ripping the earpiece out of his ear. He paced backwards and forwards down the pavement and Rose watched nervously.

"Is there anything we can do?" she asked. "You said we needed power; can we boost it from this side?"

The Doctor shook his head in frustration. "No. It's got to be linked to the chair. That's the element. It's the key to bringing you back." There was a pause, and the Doctor stopped walking to look into Rose's hopeful eyes.

"Don't you see, Rose?" he asked her impatiently, but she didn't reply. He reached out and took hold of her wrist. "I can't do it. It's not going to work. I've got to leave you here." There were tears in his eyes as he caressed her skin. She breathed in slowly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, willing her own tears away as one fell down the Doctor's cheek.

"Matter from the void is creeping out into my world. If I stay here any longer… both universes will collapse." He let go of her hand and covered his mouth. "I've been stupid, Rose. I was so set on finding you… I never thought to check it was safe. Because I assumed, Rose. I assumed that the gap in the void wouldn't be big enough to cause any damage, because it didn't when I came through before, as an image. But I got it all wrong; the chair wasn't built to cross realities. It can't cope. It made a rip in the void. A huge gap that's going to pull things in and spit things out. And it's in the TARDIS." he added the final sentence as realisation hit him with a thud.

"I created a black hole, right in the middle of the TARDIS. It's got the whole of the time vortex to feed on, and soon it'll be pulling things in. Starting with the people in that room. And there's no way to warn anyone." he ran his fingers through his hair, begging himself to think of an answer. "There's got to be something. There has to be a way." he insisted, pacing up and down the street.

Suddenly he stopped panicking and returned his gaze to Rose.

"I - I have to go. Now. Without you." he said simply, but Rose clung onto his sleeve.

"But you can't." she said, tears falling fast down her cheeks. "If we wait, they might find more power. On the other side, they might work out what's going on. We just have to wait." The Doctor didn't hide his own tears as they plummeted down his face, unstoppable. He shook his head regretfully.

"I can't. The void is being ripped apart; there's no time. I can't take you with me because there's not enough power. It's the only way. I have to leave you here." He shook his head sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for doing this to you, again." he choked out. "I wish I could take you; it's killing me that I can't. But you have to understand, Rose, it's you or the world. And believe me, if I could, I would choose you. Because you would be worth every particle of dust, in the burning skies of every collapsed planet. And I want nothing more than to break open the void and take you back to the TARDIS with me. But -"

"Doctor." Rose interrupted, her shimmering face giving away her clear despair. "I love you." she wept, for the second time.

The Doctor let tears fall down his face weakly, not believing that he had to do this for a second, final time. "Rose…" He didn't know where to begin.

"Just… say it. Please?" she asked him, begging to hear just three words.

"I do. Of course I do." he told her, his voice breaking slightly.

"I just need to hear it." she sobbed. "Say it. Why won't you ever say it?"

"Because then I'd be saying goodbye." the Doctor replied simply. He reached out and touched Rose's forehead, breaking the telepathic link, and she sobbed more.

"I love you." she repeated, trying to be strong as he stepped back.

"I know." the Doctor told her feebly. "And you know I do too."

"Doctor!" Rose persisted, and the Doctor dropped his head.

After a brief silence, broken only by the sound of the pair's tears falling to the ground, the Doctor raised his head and walked suddenly towards Rose. He reached out and placed a hand behind her back, pressing his lips up against hers with lust and longing. His other hand found her neck, and the Doctor pulled her towards his body in an embrace. Rose responded forecefully, running her fingers through the Doctor's hair, and the two were entwined gracefully, impervious to their surroundings, as if the worlds depended on their final moments together.

The Doctor finally pulled away, and stepped back out of reach.

"I will always love you." he said confidently, tears running down his cheeks smoothly, and he gazed at Rose's tear-stained face with yearning.

Rose stared straight into his eyes, not able to speak, as the Doctor faded before her once again.

She stood for a moment, still with shock, and then the reality hit her. He couldn't come back. It was over, for the last time. She buried her face in her hands and cried until she couldn't bear it anymore. She sunk into a ball in the middle of the road and sobbed, because there was nothing else she could do.

A hand appeared over her shoulder, and someone wrapped their arms around her comfortingly. She didn't speak, and neither did Mickey, as he rocked her back and forth caringly, kissing the top of her head, trying to share her pain. Jackie and Pete stayed in the house, staring sadly out at their disheartened daughter through the window.

- - - - - - -

The Doctor appeared in the chair suddenly, and Martha jumped back with shock. Gwen shrieked with surprise and there was a sigh of relief when everyone realised it was the Doctor. But they could all tell something wasn't right, because the Doctor was alone, and he didn't move from the chair; he covered his face with his hands and tried to control his sobbing.

"Doctor?" Jack asked tentatively, ushering everyone else out of the room. "What happened?" Owen, Ianto, Toshiko and Gwen left silently, looking back over their shoulders at the crying shadow of the Doctor as they closed the door behind them. Martha kneeled down on the floor next to the Doctor, and reached out to touch his leg gently.

"Doctor?" she asked quietly, but he pulled away, not answering. After a moment's pause, he released his face and let his arms rest on his knees.

"Where's Rose?" Jack asked, and the Doctor stared straight ahead.

"In the other universe."

Martha and Jack exchanged glances as the Doctor lifted himself up off the chair.

"What do you mean?" Martha asked as he walked to the opposite door and leant on the wall. The Doctor didn't speak for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"There wasn't enough power. I couldn't bring her back. She's…gone." he told himself, losing hope.

"But… there must be another way." Martha suggested, but the Doctor looked up angrily.

"No. I am _never _putting Rose through that, ever again. Do you hear me? That's it, it's over." he told her firmly, his despair turning into rage. "Because there's nothing else I can do. And because she doesn't deserve it!" Martha looked at him sadly and the Doctor dropped his gaze to the floor, where the 3D Glasses lay, from when Gwen had ripped them off with surprise as the Doctor had appeared.

"The void…" he whispered weakly, rushing over to the machine. He frantically flicked all the switches off and unplugged everything, then, venting his anger through his actions, he kicked the chair madly with a growl of frustration escaping his lips. Jack pulled him away and he sank down against the wall, suddenly not speaking, not crying, and not longing for Rose. He had given up hope.

"It'll get better." Martha insisted. "And... I'll stay, for a bit. If you want." The Doctor didn't reply, but Martha could tell he didn't want to force her to stay. "In fact, even if you don't want me to, I'm staying. Because I won't leave you now." She reeled off all the reasons he still had to live, and all the ways his life would get better.

But the Doctor wasn't listening to Martha's words of comfort. He wasn't hearing Jack's heavy breathing from the corner of the room. He stared ahead miserably, focusing on the chair when it was all he could do not to lash out and destroy it. Rose's face emerged out of the darkness into his mind, and he closed his eyes for a moment, letting a small tear of regret roll down his cheek. Then he opened his eyes and the face was gone. Rose was gone.

It was over.

* * *

Arghh, what have I done?! Lol. Hopefully I've left a few of you teary-eyed; that was my aim, because I'm evil. Just kidding; I really hope you enjoyed it!  
The title of the chapter was supposed to be kind of cryptic, like, you start off thinking it's Rose's goodbye to her family, but it's actually the Doctor and Rose's goodbye. Did it work, or not?

A few questions need to be answered, I guess (most of which I expect none of you care about):  
1. Yes, I had planned to have a sad ending the whole way through. Kind of. It started off happy, then went sad, but there were only ever three choices of endings (One was a happy reunion, one was this ending, and the third was Rose dying, so I think you actually got off pretty lightly, lol). I hope it proved a good ending, especially to the reviewers who told me my story was "predictable" and "boring"; I wanted to say something, but didn't, so I hope I surprised you!  
2. No, I probably won't do an alternative ending. Sorry, I just can't write happy fluff very well, although, looking back, I can't really write this very well either =P  
3. Yes, I do have ideas for a sequel (-all groan-), but I'm not sure quite where it's headed. It will include Donna as the assistant if I write it.

My thanks go to all my loyal reviewers who have been giving me feedback throughout the story, and to those of you who didn't review, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Thanks to the many, many people who contributed to the 7000+ hits to this story, and a big thank you to my best friend, Braceface Freak, who helped me out a lot.


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